A Little Bundle of Drama
by g-na-1358
Summary: Eren is pregnant and that's honestly not a very good thing. (MPreg. Canon divergence Omega verse, Omega!Eren, Alpha!Levi.) (cover image by peachylevi on tumblr)
1. A Little Bundle of Drama

"Eren!"

The boy in question froze at the urgent call of his name and took a deep breath before turning around to face Jean. "What is it, horseface?"

Jean rolled his eyes at him but the uneasy expression adorning his face didn't disappear. "The commander is calling you to his office."

"Thanks, I'll go right now," Eren announced without any emotion before sidestepping Jean and heading to the commander's office.

At least that was his intention but Jean's hand on his arm stopped him. He shot the other boy a questioning look.

"Wait. Tell me something; do you know what this is about?"

Eren didn't say anything and Jean frowned. "You do, don't you? It seemed pretty serious to me; what the hell is going on?"

Eren looked Jean in the eyes and was surprised to find concern in the soft browns. But all he could muster was a half-smile and a whisper of, "Let's hope you will get to find out."

Jean frowned even more. "What's that supposed to mean? Hey, wait!"

Eren only shook his head before leaving his friend standing there, confused and deeply concerned. This didn't look good.

* * *

Eren sighed, resigning himself to his fate before he knocked sharply on the office door. A call of "Come in" came immediately. They must have been waiting for him.

The boy saluted immediately after entering the room while he assessed the situation. Commander Erwin was sitting behind his desk, hands folded in front of his face sporting a grave expression. Standing a little behind him was Hanji, missing her usual smile, looking somewhere ways left of where he was standing. On the other side of the desk sitting in chair, back towards Eren was captain Levi, his bangs hiding his eyes and expression.

There was one empty chair next to the captain, one to which Erwin gestured for Eren to sit down, a silent command that Eren obeyed immediately.

Erwin leaned back in his chair giving Eren a calculating look. "Eren, do you know why I called you here?"

Eren's eyes momentarily veered towards Hanji who still refused to look at him, but now they looked slightly guilty as well.

"I have a feeling, sir," Eren finally replied.

"Hanji informed me," the commander sighed, "that you are... in a certain condition."

"I don't know if I would call being pregnant 'a certain condition,' but that is correct."

"So you knew about it?"

"I am a male omega, sir. Of course I knew."

"And why didn't you inform anyone?"

Eren shrugged. "I figured Hanji would find out soon enough."

Erwin sighed deeply. "Your behavior and speech right now is honestly on the verge of being classified as insubordination."

"I'm sorry, sir, but I am well aware my child's life is at stake here. I think I have every right to be defensive."

Hanji interrupted before Erwin could say anything else and probably only succeeding in pushing Eren further. "You're right Eren, you have the right and it's to be expected. But you are still a soldier talking to your commanding officer so please, try to keep calm, okay?"

Eren shot her an unimpressed look but said nothing.

Erwin took his silence as a cue to continue. "First. Eren, who is the father and does he know about this?"

Eren stared into his commander's eyes for a long moment before stating unwaveringly, "He does know and I am very sorry, however, I am not telling you who he is."

"Since he knows, he has to be present for this, Eren, or it will only... well, _complicate_ things."

"With all due respect, sir, I'm not telling you no matter what," Eren growled, baring his teeth, obviously getting angry.

"Okay, Eren," Hanji interrupted again in a gentle tone. "You don't have to tell us. But I think you know where this is heading. We're going to have to ask you to abort. It would be better for everyone."

Eren flashed his teeth again, instinctively shifting so his stomach was more protected. "How. How is it better for us or our child."

"That's..." Hanji didn't know how to say it gently. There was no way to do so and Hanji couldn't bring herself to say it. She looked to Erwin for help but he was intently studying Eren.

"Moreover," a new voice added, speaking for the first time since Eren arrived, "are you willing to deal with an enraged alpha, when he finds out you killed his child?" Captain Levi's voice sounded a little too emotionless to seem unconcerned. He obviously didn't like the situation that somehow came to be.

Erwin raised his hand to show Hanji he'll take it from there. Hanji could only sigh with relief. "That is why I asked Eren who the father was, to minimize the damage. And Eren, I can only imagine how this makes you feel and I completely understand you don't believe us when we say this, but it really would be for the best. You are a titan shifter, an important asset to our war with the titans. Who knows how your shifting could affect the baby, which means we would have to halt all experiments and training, even drastically reduce your normal physical training. That in itself is a problem but most importantly, people would notice the change. Then your stomach will start growing and people will connect the dots. I don't have to say that if the government or the Military police find out they will either tell you to abort anyway, or try kill you and the baby. In the worst case, they will take the baby as soon as it's born to use for experiments. And when they are done with that, they sell him or her to some rich noble as a trophy - if your child survives at all. It wouldn't be the first case of a 'Titan child' but since yours would be much more closely connected to the titans, it would suffer much more than what I heard about the first one. And no one here wants to see that." The last part said in a sad whisper.

By the end of Erwin's speech, silent tears were streaming down Eren's cheeks, although he looked more furious than sad. His teeth were bared and he was growling loudly, that infamous maniacal look in his eyes. He still curled around his stomach protectively, clutching at himself desperately, trying to suppress his furious shivering. "No," he snarled venomously. "No, I won't let that happen. None of those things. I don't want to give up this child either. I don't want _anything_ to happen to it. No."

Hanji, fighting back her own tears, walked over to crouch in front of the boy who was on the verge of a break down, putting soothing hands on his knees. "I know you're angry. Or sad, really, behind all that fury. It's a difficult decision. Probably the most difficult decision you'll have to make in your life. But you yourself know it's the best way. I promise you on my life I will put even more effort into my research, Erwin will put even more effort into his plans, Levi more effort into slaughtering everything standing between us and victory. We all will do our very best to win this war the sooner we can – and when we win, you can have another baby. And another after that. All the babies you will want. But now..." Hanji paused to wipe away her tears. "Now is just not the right time. You have to be strong _this_ _one_ _time_."

Eren started trembling even more but he raised his head, so, so fragile determination in his eyes, and nodded slowly, whispering a quiet "Okay, I understand."

Hanji smiled weakly at him, squeezing his knees. She went to hug the boy but was stopped by a single, ice-cold word.

"No."

All heads turned to Levi in surprise. His head was still angled in a way you couldn't read his expression at all.

"Levi?" Erwin asked in surprise.

"No. I won't let you do that. I don't doubt you don't have any idea, living all your life on the surface. Have you _ever_ heard about an omega abortion?"

Hanji and Erwin looked at each other with confused but thoughtful expressions, while Eren continued staring at Levi.

"Well, now that you mention it... No, I suppose not."

"That's because no one does it on the ground. Why do you think that is? It's definitely not because no omega ever experienced accidental pregnancy. Or was raped resulting in an unwanted child. Whatever the circumstances, the omega won't ask for abortion. And no one forces them. Even miscarriages are extremely rare because everyone is instinctively careful around pregnant omegas. They get the best medical care as well."

"Is it dangerous? Do you think even with Eren's regeneration it would be too much?" Hanji asked, now obviously worried.

"No. That's not the problem. But you know, I've seen it so many times in the Underground. Pimps forcing their whores to abort because it was inconvenient. Pregnant omegas getting beaten up so bad they miscarried. Physically, the abortion or miscarriage is the same as every other one; it's just that for an omega, losing a child is such an emotional hit it practically breaks them. They die inside and continue living as empty shells. Not even another pregnancy can save them completely."

Hanji covered her mouth in horror and even Erwin looked very unsettled.

Levi slowly stood up, walking the short distance towards Eren. Hanji instinctively scrambled as far as she could before Levi got too close. As he took his place in front of his charge, the captain pulled out a short dagger he always carried hidden in his clothes and firmly held it in a reverse grip, before finally raising his head to let the whole world see the angry, glowing eyes of an alpha protecting his omega.

Hanji and Erwin both gasped as they realized the whole picture. Why Eren refused to tell who the father was. Levi's strange silence ever since the start of the meeting, even before the omega arrived. And... was that blood on his hands and uniform? Was he clenching his fists so hard trying to control himself that his palms started bleeding freely?

"I'll ask you again," Levi growled lowly and dangerously, taking a stance, ready to both attack and defend. "Are you willing to deal with an enraged alpha? Worse, enraged _mated_ alpha, protecting not only his child but his _mate_ as well?"

There were a few minutes of tense silence before anyone dared to move, much less speak. But it was, unsurprisingly, Eren who broke the silence with a quiet but firm voice. "Stop it, Levi. You're not helping anything."

"Shut up, Eren," Levi barked back, without taking his eyes off of the other two. "I'm protecting you from making the stupidest decision in the history of these damned walls."

Eren frowned up at the back of his mate's head but before he could say anything, Erwin started talking. And shocked them all. "He's right, Eren. It would be a very bad decision, after all. I'm sorry for almost forcing you to agree to it."

"What are you going on about, Eyebrows," questioned Levi cautiously, although his body visibly relaxed at the realization that he made his point heard.

Erwin smiled apologetically at the pair before explaining, "What you said changed the situation drastically. It never occurred to me that abortion could have such dire consequences but since that _is_ the case, it can't even be considered an option. Humanity needs Eren to keep his sanity about him or else he can't control the titan. Again, I'm sorry for not taking Eren's mental health into consideration."

At those words Levi finally relaxed his stance completely, putting his dagger away. However, instead of sitting back in his place, he grabbed the chair and put it as close to Eren's as possible, figuring there was no reason to keep his distance anymore. He flopped back into it, crossing his legs and grabbing his mate's hand, holding it firmly in his. Or he tried to, but Eren jumped a little at the wet feeling of his palm, finally noticing the bleeding.

"Levi, you..." he was lost for words.

Hanji, her attention brought back to the self-inflicted injury, however jumped up and took off towards the nearest first-aid kit.

Eren had so much to say to his partner – scold him for hurting himself, thank him for protecting them both, seeking comfort – but knew he now he had other matters to focus on. He opted to send him a disapproving but loving look and leave the conversation for later. Instead he looked back at Erwin and asked the question burning at the tip of his tongue, "So... We... Do we... Do we get to keep the baby?" He clutched Levis hand in a death grip, as he waited for an answer, momentarily forgetting his mate's injury and that he was probably only causing him more pain. Levi squeezed his right back.

Erwin gave them a contemplative look, taking a few moments before giving a final answer. "I don't see any other option since Eren's full control of his titan is essential to us. So yes, you get to keep the baby."

Eren sighed in relief, slumping in his seat. He almost cried again.

"But," Erwin continued firmly, "some extreme measures will have to be taken. Absolutely _no one_ outside the Survey corps can know about this. So don't tell a single soul, at least for now. I'll have to think about how we will go about this and then we'll talk. Think very, _very_ carefully about who you can trust with your – all three of yours – lives in the meantime."

He was interrupted by a knock on the door and Hanji slipping back inside with a first-aid kit in tow. She headed for Levi at once and started disinfecting his palms.

For a moment the three watched her in silence before Erwin directed a question at her. "Hanji, how long do you think we can hide Eren is pregnant?"

Hanji tilted her head in thought, not ceasing her work. "You mean visually or practically, with training and not carrying things and stuff?"

"Visually. The rest we can probably work around, with some difficulty."

Hanji ran her eyes up and down Eren's form, even though Eren had no idea what she could read from that. "Hard to say. Usually, male omegas don't show much. Especially the ones with some muscle on them. So the odds should be on our side. If we're lucky with the baby's position, Eren might show so little you won't be able to notice unless you're looking for it even close to birth. But we might not be lucky and it will become obvious a few months in."

"So you can't really say for now. But we still have a few months before potentially getting a heads up if it's not in our favor."

"That's about it, yes."

"Okay, thank you. Hanji, I want you to give Eren a full checkup and I want an estimate of what i can expect in what time frame by next week. I expect you all here on Monday at the same time to discuss how we're going to proceed. You're dismissed after Hanji is done with Levi."

"Yes, sir," the three of them replied in unison, Eren being the only one who bothered to get up and salute his commander.

It took Hanji only a few more moments to fasten the bandages on Levi's hands so they all got up and went for the door, saying their goodbyes to Erwin. After Hanji left first, Erwin quickly called out, "Levi, Eren, wait a second."

The two exchanged a quick glance, then looked back at the commander.

Erwin smiled warmly at them, catching them both off guard. "The two of you, take the rest of the day off. You both look like you need it."

Eren took a breath but before he could protest, Erwin continued, "And, putting aside just how against the rules this whole thing is, congratulations."

Eren shut his mouth and gaped for a second in shock. "Th-Thank you, sir," he stumbled over his words, blushing a little and bowing his head bashfully, having no idea how to react to something like that. "For everything."

"You're more than welcome, Eren."

The two mates made quick eye contact, coming to an understanding practically immediately. Eren saluted once more before taking off.

Levi lingered a few more moments before breaking eye contact with his friend and superior and turning to leave as well, mumbling a quick thanks.

Erwin only laughed, calling after him, "We're still having a long talk later!"

"Fuck you!" Levi called back, allowing himself a small, relieved smile.

Everything was alright. At least for now.

* * *

 **A/N:** Okay, so here's the deal. The only reason I'm posting this now is because I want to know whether it's worth even pursuing this AU. I wrote this two days ago and I loved it beyond words. Then I wanted to write more today, wrote two paragraphs before realizing it's all complete shit and having to physically stop myself from deleting the whole thing.

So. It's completely up to the feedback this chapter gets. It's entirely possible I'll never write a new chapter and delete this in a few days, never to open the document again. Or if I feel like I don't completely fail at everything and people are somewhat interested, there might be more. (Even though I don't have any real, actual plan for what it would be about.)

Let me know how you feel about this, please.


	2. A Little Bundle of Relief

**A/N:** The first part is Levi's POV of the happenings right before the happenings in the first chapter.

* * *

It was just after lunch when Hanji knocked on the open door to Levi's office with a strange expression on her face.

"What is it, Shitty foureyes?" Levi asked, returning his gaze to the papers on his desk.

"Levi, I'm going to report to Erwin now."

Levi raised an eyebrow still not giving her his full attention. "And? You're telling me this why?"

She shuffled her feet uncomfortably. "There's this thing about Eren's results from yesterday. I think you should be there."

The alpha stiffened. He knew what this was about, even though he didn't expect it quite this soon. Hanji was too efficient for her own good sometimes. He bit back a curse. "Fine. Give me a minute to finish this and I'll come."

Thankfully, Hanji just nodded and left ahead of him. Levi didn't know how it would play out if she didn't. As soon as she disappeared behind the doorframe, he abandoned all pretense of working and threw the pen he was holding away before he broke it in his grip. He didn't even know for sure what this was about and he already felt his instincts rising to an alarming level.

He wanted to find Eren right now and hide him somewhere he would be safe but he knew that was impossible. Beside the fact they have already agreed to face this problem head on, the omega was too stubborn and determined to just let himself be stowed away.

Levi hated that part of him sometimes.

He arrived to Erwin's office a few minutes later, after a detour to the bathroom to wash his face and calm down, only to be faced with a terribly tense atmosphere and his instincts spiking up once again even before he flopped into one of the chairs opposite the commander.

He took a deep breath, trying not to let anything show as he eyed Erwin and Hanji wearily. "Okay, I'm here. What is this about and what does it have to do with me."

Hanji took a step forward, tapping a little stack of papers on Erwin's desk. "I wanted you here because this concerns Eren and you are the one who is in charge of him. As I already told you, there was something in Eren's results from yesterday. I didn't want to believe it but I checked it twice. There's no mistaking it."

"Stop stalling, Hanji. What is it?"

"He's pregnant, Levi," stated Erwin in a flat voice and Levi's gaze slid to him.

Fuck. Levi knew this was it but hearing it confirmed didn't help ease his nerves any. It pretty much did the opposite, really. "...And? What do you plan on doing with that information?" His voice was carefully measured as to not let any emotions be known.

Hanji gaped at him. "What do you mean, 'and?' It's a problem, Levi! A serious one at that! He's Humanity's last hope and he's pregnant! What if someone finds out? What if he can't transform anymore? What if he _refuses_ to fight anymore?!"

Levi sneered, "You should know the brat won't just give up his fight because he's a parent now."

Hanji deflated a little at that. "I know but still..."

Erwin finally spoke up and it made Levi clench his fists in anger. He was sure someone would propose this sooner or later but that knowledge still didn't prepare him for having to actually hear it. "He shouldn't keep the child. If we can help it, at least. It would mean too much of a risk; for us and for Eren as well. Not to mention the risk the child itself would face."

"Are you talking about Kyklo?" Hanji asked quietly and Erwin nodded.

"Well, first we have to talk to him and try to make him see our point-"

"You mean _your_ point," Levi interrupted through gritted teeth.

Erwin gave the other a contemplative look but didn't comment on his aggression. "See _my_ point and wait for his reaction."

Hanji sighed sadly, "I can't imagine he'd take it well."

"Me neither but I don't believe there is a better solution. Do you?" he asked both his trusted soldiers and while Hanji shook her head in defeat, Levi said nothing. Erwin continued, "Well, I already sent for him so we should know our position soon. If he doesn't agree to aborting, we will have to come up with a damn good plan to hide it."

Ignoring the sting of his nails which were starting to dig into his palms painfully in an attempt to keep his self from tearing Erwin apart for even suggesting this, Levi silently swore he would make Erwin come up with that "damn good plan" if it was the last thing he did.

Not five minutes later, there was a knock on the door.

* * *

The corridor was mercifully empty when Levi left Erwin's office fifteen minutes later. He took the opportunity and slumped against the wall behind the first corner, closing his eyes and taking several deep breaths to calm down a little. He still felt like he might rip the head off of the first person to look at him wrong in some misguided attempt to protect his mate and child.

He knew he wouldn't fully calm down unless Eren was somewhere in the immediate vicinity but he had to take care of things before going to join the boy. He had to find Mike or someone at least semi-competent to re-delegate the duties he'd been relieved of.

Taking one last inhale and forcing his face into neutral so he at least _looked_ as composed as always, Levi set off in search of human activity. Heading for the nearest stairs and descending a few steps, he thanked his luck he didn't have to go all the way down and then up again as he spotted Nanaba just a little ways below him.

"Oi, Nanaba!" he called after the fellow veteran.

The woman stopped in her tracks, startled by the unexpected voice. She looked around in confusion before her eyes fell on Levi and she smiled, "Oh, Levi! What is it?"

"Erwin gave me the rest of the day off. Tell my squad to continue what we were doing yesterday and that if I find out, and I _will_ find out, they were slacking off, I'm gonna work their asses until they can't walk and then more."

Nanaba smirked, "Sure thing. Anything else?"

"The cleaning duties are still in order. If I find a single speck of dust tomorrow, I'll skin the fucker responsible."

"Yes, sir," Nanaba said with a chuckle and if he didn't know better, Levi'd think she was making fun of him.

He still narrowed his eyes at her as he thanked her.

"No problem. Enjoy your time off, Levi." She left with a small wave.

Levi waved back before going back the way he came, heading for the small kitchenette that was conveniently and _entirely_ coincidently located on the same floor as the commander's and squad leaders' offices.

He needed something hot and liquid. It always helped in calming him. And he knew for a fact that if _he_ needed something extra to calm down all the way, a certain hot tempered brat needed it twice as much. No matter how much he pretended to be alright or denied being upset.

Levi prepared the tea quickly with his practiced hands and soon enough he was picking the tray holding the teapot and two cups with a sigh. He just hoped Eren was alright and waiting for him – in other words that he somehow managed to escape Hanji's clutches.

Walking up the one flight of stairs to get to the top floor holding the officers' private rooms, he was relieved to see his own door was slightly open. Eren was expecting him to come soon and with his hands full. Levi didn't resist the soft smile pulling on his lips. The kid already knew him so well.

The alpha used his foot to open the door, kicking it shut behind himself.

Eren had apparently already made himself comfortable in Levi's bed, surrounding himself with pillows and blankets (that he somehow managed to sneak in over the months from the reserve stashes), making a sort of a nest. Levi wouldn't admit how much more at ease he felt just seeing the boy, especially looking so nice and comfortable and that in the alpha's territory, no less.

The omega seemed lost in thought, staring out of the window and rubbing his stomach absentmindedly, until the noise of the door shutting brought him back from his trance and caused him to jump a little.

"That's my bed, you know?"

Eren shot his mate a look. "Didn't see you complaining until now." He sounded angry at the comment. A thought passed Levi's mind that he must be more upset than anticipated if even this innocent little teasing remark irritated him like this.

Levi countered in his typical impassive tone, "I wasn't complaining, just stating a fact." Eren huffed and looked away while Levi put the tray on the bedside table, pouring two cups. He handed one to Eren.

It took several seconds before Eren acknowledged him and took it from him. During the passing of the cup, the tea came too close to spilling for Levi's comfort and he swore in his head that this would be the first and last time of them consuming _anything_ in his bed. But easing Eren's mind now was the top priority, so he let it slide and just prayed neither of them would actually spill any.

Once Eren had his tea securely in his hands, soaking up the warmth the hot liquid provided rather than actually drinking it, Levi moved up onto the bed as well, settling close to his mate. Only when comfortably seated did Levi try to pick up his own cup but he had to bite back a curse as he realized he couldn't hold the cup the way he normally did.

It felt awkward, holding it by its body and he felt the heat slowly seep through the bandage covering his palm. He didn't understand how Eren could hold the cup like it was a comfortably warm temperature rather than barely-not-boiling-anymore hot as it was.

And speaking of Eren, "Why are you staring at me like you want to bite my fucking head off?"

Eren glared at him angrily. "Your hand hurts."

"No shit," snorted Levi. "I did practically make holes into it, you know."

Eren gritted his teeth and hissed in response, "I can't believe you. You're such an _idiot!_ What the _hell_ were you thinking, hurting yourself like this?!" Levi was a little taken aback by the omega's fit, raising an eyebrow. Wasn't it obvious what he was thinking? But Eren wasn't done yet. "And while we're at it, why did you even come out? What were you trying to do, threatening Hanji and the commander like that? We agreed to keep you out of the picture as long as possible and you turn around and just go and put yourself in danger of suspension or something worse! Yoummmph!"

Levi slapped a hand over Eren's mouth to shut him up. The younger glared at him but Levi just shook his head. He put his untouched teacup back away, doing the same with the omega's. Then he turned back to Eren. "Listen, you little shit. Do you really think I could just sit back and let you so easily agree to the shittiest solution ever? That I could just nod along while you three happily discuss _aborting_ my kid? While knowing that would pretty much kill _you_ as well, right along with them?"

Now it was Eren's turn to interrupt his captain's rant. He angrily slapped the hand keeping his mouth closed away and gave Levi the most venomous glare he could muster. "What, do you think _I_ liked the idea of it? _Do you?!_ Fuck no! I hated it, I wanted to kill them both for even suggesting it but it _made sense!_ It _was_ the best thing to do! Did you hear what the commander said might happen to the baby?" Eren's voice broke at the remembrance and he continued in a much quieter voice. "I don't want our child to suffer. Ever." He held his mates gaze for the few moments of silence that settled over them after that.

Finally, Levi raised his hand and put it over Eren's cheek soothingly. "Eren," he murmured, "do you really think I would let anyone touch the kid and survive? I will sooner murder every fucking human behind these shitty walls than see either of my brats get hurt."

Eren laughed weakly at that, slumping against the strong body of his mate, Levi's arms automatically closing around him.

"I can protect myself," Eren mumbled defiantly into his captain's shoulder.

The alpha only snorted in response, "That's bullshit and you know it. Suicidal bastard."

Eren laughed weakly at the nickname but it was short-lived. "God, Levi, I was so scared," he whimpered, finally letting his true feelings surface.

The captain let his head drop, kissing the younger's temple and nuzzling his hair. "Me too, brat, me too."

Eren's hands came up to clutch at the alpha's back as he took a shuddering breath. "I'm so fucking happy and _so_ relieved but... I still feel so _selfish_ , too, keeping the baby. We're going to cause so much trouble for everyone; the commander and Hanji especially."

Levi couldn't help but smirk at that. "That's another bullshit right there. Shitty foureyes is gonna implode trying to keep all the excitement in. What would be better for that maniac than getting the opportunity to study a titan kid?"

Eren sat back up and made a face. "Don't call them a titan kid, it brings up weird images," he stated seriously before making himself comfortable in his nest again.

Levi smirked as he picked up their now-lukewarm teas and handed Eren his own before sinking back next to his mate, throwing an arm around him and bringing him close.

The omega rested his head on Levi's shoulder sighing as Levi finally took a sip from his cup.

"Erwin is right, though," Levi started talking again after a long while of comfortable silence. "We should think about who we're going to tell. It will be difficult to hide the fact you're pregnant and protect the two of you with just Erwin and Hanji."

"Well, I'm definitely telling Mikasa and Armin."

Levi muttered a quiet "What a shock", before getting smacked by Eren, who then continued, "And I think," he paused, almost pained expression on his face. "I think I want to tell Jean, too," he finally mumbled in defeat.

Levi looked at him in surprise. "Seriously?"

The boy nodded firmly, even while still looking conflicted. "Yeah. He's a total asshole and a horse to boot and I can't stand his guts, but I trust him."

"Okay," agreed the other, trusting his mate's judgment. "Anyone else?"

Eren shrugged. "Honestly, I'd like to tell everyone from my trainee squad but I don't know if the commander would agree to that."

"You gotta ask him and you'll see. Though I'm not looking forward to the whole bunch of shitty brats running around screaming about babies."

Eren couldn't help but laugh. "That's just Connie and Sasha." He smiled up at Levi, asking in turn, "What about you?"

Now it was Levi's turn to shrug. "Probably just Mike and Nanaba and Erwin is likely telling them anyway. Erwin and Hanji already know and the only other people I trust would be my old squad."

Eren frowned but didn't comment. They were over that argument too many times already. Levi made it perfectly clear he didn't want to hear him apologize a single time more. So instead Eren just settled back into the crook of Levi's neck. "What are we going to tell them, though?"

Levi hummed in response, "What else can we tell them now but the truth?"

"Mm. I suppose..." Eren sighed as Levi squeezed him tighter.

The alpha went to take another sip of his tea but paused, looking down at his mate. "But for the love of god, no matter how much she begs, don't give Hanji _any_ details about our sex life."

Eren nearly spat out his own tea.

* * *

 **A/N:** So, I have a few things to say and first would be thank you all so much for the response this got! I was so overwhelmed I honestly almost cried at the beautiful reviews and the amount of favourites and follows I received ＼(*T▽T*)／ So really, thank you so much. I hope this chapter or any future ones aren't disappointing... ^^;;

Second, I read all the reviews (multiple times, really) and consider all suggestions they might contain (so if you have any, feel free to share; and constructive criticism is always welcome as well) however, I have terrible anxiety so I actually respond only when I feel like I have no other choice - to answer _direct_ questions or when I feel someone is heavily misunderstanding something. I really want to reply to everyone but it's, unfortunately, impossible for me... ㅠ.ㅠ

Third, related to the second point, because of my anxiety, I can't guarantee any regularity with updates - especially since school is starting for me soon and I am so not ready. I can say I will try to update once a week but knowing myself, it won't last. So please, be patient with me? m(＠´＿｀＠)m

Fourth, if you have read up till this point, I am very impressed :D (And I'm sorry and thank you...)


	3. A Little Bundle of Scolding

Fuck cuddling, was Levi's first coherent thought of the day.

He cringed when he woke up the morning after the big reveal fiasco, realizing half his body was dead and the other hurt horribly. He looked down at the heavy body using him as a body pillow and thus being responsible for his state as it slept happily away, completely oblivious to its mate's torment. He got a mouth full of hair as a result.

Let him say it again. Fuck cuddling.

The alpha tried extracting himself gently from the vice grip his omega had on him but Eren would have none of it. Even unconscious he was relentless. Levi gave up being gentle when feeling started to return to his rescued arm, hurting like a bitch. He needed his body back and go take a shower as it would hopefully help him forget the terrible feeling of needles pricking every damn bit of the right half of his body, while simultaneously relaxing the sore muscles in the left half of his body. Even the thought of it made him moan in relief.

Mind made up, Levi pried Eren's arms from himself and got up, wobbly on his legs. He was halfway to cursing cuddling to hell and back all anew when a soft sounds of protest came from behind.

"Leeeviii~ Come baaack~" Eren was mumbling, barely coherent as he blindly searched around for his mate.

Levi almost gave in and went back to bed to cuddle the shit out of this cute creature. Almost.

And it wasn't even his aching body that stopped him; instead it was the noise from outside. The birds were making a racket already and the castle would be full of people soon.

He sighed regretfully as he sat on the edge of the bed, ruffling Eren's hair. The brunet groaned pitifully and tried to swat the hand away, only managing to make Levi smile. "Eren, you have to get up. It's morning."

"No."

"Yes. And we don't want to make Erwin even more pissed than he already is when someone sees you leaving here, do we?"

Eren groaned, finally sitting up. He looked at Levi sleepily, blinking a few times. "You're a cheater," he stated in a gruff voice before yawning tiredly.

"Morning to you, too," Levi smirked, giving Eren a light peck on the cheek.

Eren only hummed noncommittally in response, fumbling to get out of bed, obviously still half asleep.

Levi was already dressed and started gathering the things he needed for his shower by the time Eren put on his shoes and stood in front of Levi to get a proper good morning kiss, bad breath and all.

"See you later, Levi," he said with a lazy but still bright smile.

Levi couldn't help but kiss him again.

* * *

Later in the day, Levi was observing his squad carefully during their hand-to-hand combat practice when he felt a presence next to him. They didn't say anything for a good while, just watching as Mikasa explained Armin how to do some more advanced move or what looked like Krista scolding Ymir for not trying hard enough.

"How are they doing?" Erwin finally asked.

Levi sighed deeply before replying, "You can see that yourself. They are still a far cry from Eld and the others. Mikasa is the only one coming close. All of them have potential but- SASHA! CONNIE! FIVE LAPS, NOW! AND IF I CATCH YOU SHITTING AROUND AGAIN, YOU'RE SPARRING WITH _ME_!" The two officers could hear some high pitched squeaks before the two soldiers hurried off for their laps, accompanied by badly muffled snickers.

Levi wanted to bash his head against the nearest wall. This was what he had to work with. Erwin didn't bother hiding his amusement over Levi's suffering.

"As I was saying," Levi continued from before, "all of them are talented in a certain way but it will take time to train them up to standard. The one good thing is that they are from the same group and have known each other since beginning their training. Their teamwork is pretty good."

Erwin nodded in understanding. "That's the most important thing. And if they are as talented as you say, their skill will up rapidly with your training." The commander's tone turned more serious. "Also, they know all too well what they are facing. That's some motivation to get better."

Levi hummed in agreement but then his eyes caught some suspicious movement to the side and he looked over to see Sasha and Connie shove at each other while doing their punishment and he had to groan while jerking his hand in their direction. "Try saying that to them – or her," he added, when he saw Ymir letting Krista overpower her again without even putting up a proper fight.

Erwin laughed lightly, "Well, I suppose they are trying to have fun which is admirable in this situation. But honestly, they seem to be doing their best regardless. And as for that girl..." Erwin took a few moments to study the interaction between the two female sparring partners. "Seems to me she's doing the same thing you would if you were to fight with Eren."

Levi scowled, rolling his eyes. "That's bullshit and you know it. I would never go easy on anyone, Eren included." Levi turned to give Erwin a slightly accusing look. "You're just trying to steer the topic in Eren's direction. Is that why you are here? To pry into the privacy of our relationship?"

The blond alpha smiled, not looking at his captain. "No reason to pry. Since Eren is currently with Hanji getting thoroughly examined, I figure it's easier to just wait until Hanji tells me everything she finds out without me even having to ask, rather than try to force anything out of you. But otherwise, you would be correct. You know me too well, Levi."

"You weren't exactly subtle. Are you that pissed off that you didn't figure it out yourself?" the other scoffed.

Erwin hummed as if contemplating Levi's accusation. "Maybe a little bit." He ignored the snort and a mumble of "Yeah, right," coming from beside him as he continued. "Mostly I'm angry at you for going through with it. What exactly were you thinking Levi? Did you really think it was a good idea to knock up one of your soldiers? One that you are directly in charge of, mind you?"

Levi raised an eyebrow as he mockingly repeated, "'Knock up'?"

His commanding officer just continued staring at him with unchanged expression so Levi gave up with a sigh. "It wasn't really my plan to make him pregnant, you know? But it happened so we all just have to accept it and adjust accordingly."

"And put all of us, including all our plans, in serious danger while we're at it, right?"

Levi could hear the hidden irritation behind the polite conversational tone. He elected to ignore the biting remark.

Erwin bit back a frustrated growl, continuing his lecture. "Let me start again. Levi, this relationship between you two would be bad enough on its own. Putting aside the current situation, did you really have to go and mate him? I'm asking as a friend now, do you realize what you did?"

Levi's eyes flashed in anger. How dare another alpha question his choice of mate?

His rational side immediately came up to try to calm the instincts down. He was sure Erwin didn't mean to insult his omega in any way; he was just looking out for them but the alpha in him still didn't like the possible hidden implications.

Erwin noticed the dangerous glow to his friend's steel grey eyes and immediately backtracked. "It's not that I disapprove of Eren as your mate in itself. If you make each other happy than in any other situation I'd be the first one to congratulate you but we are in _this_ situation. We are soldiers of the Survey corps. We could die anytime we go out. And as if that in itself wasn't enough, Eren is in constant danger from _inside the walls_ as well." Erwin paused as he came to the point he was wary of the most. " _And_ _you_ are the one who might have to kill him one day."

Levi's glare was still just as fierce as ever but at least his eyes weren't glowing anymore. "Your point?" he barked with venom.

Erwin gave him a look. "Don't play dumb. You know what mating does to people. If one of you dies, the other will be left behind with a piece of their being missing, unable to mate anyone again to fill it back in. They would suffer for the rest of their life. Would you be able to continue fighting if Eren died? And don't even try to tell me you would be able to go through with killing Eren _yourself_ if the situation called for it."

Levi looked away. There was no need to give an answer to that.

Erwin, satisfied, went on, "Moreover, anytime one of you is in danger, the other feels it. Your instinct won't let you ignore it and you're going to abandon whatever mission you have to get to the other. That is a prospect I very much don't like. It poses danger not only to the two of you, but also everyone else on the field with you."

The blond took a breath, rubbing his temples "You live a life where either of you can die any moment, the whole population of the corps, no the _whole_ _human population_ depends on you two and you go and do... this. And _then_ you bring a child into this mess as well."

Levi still kept his gaze on his new squad, although not really seeing them, when he finally answered Erwin's scolding rant in a quiet voice. "That's why."

"What?" Erwin didn't understand what Levi was trying to say.

"That's why I mated Eren. We could die anytime in this shitfest of a world and I couldn't stand the thought of Eren being in danger without me to help him. Again," Levi elaborated with a growl.

Erwin's eyes lit with understanding. "The female titan?" he asked for confirmation.

Levi sighed, looking up at the bright, bright blue sky sadly. "Yeah."

The tall alpha frowned at how tired his friend suddenly looked. "It wasn't your fault, Levi."

Levi chuckled humorlessly, "I know. It wasn't anyone's fault. It's in the job description. But Eren could have died; hell, my whole squad died and I had no idea. If I went looking for them a few minutes later, Eren would be gone. If I went looking for them a few minutes earlier, I could have saved them. Now I can at least know when he needs me."

The raven slowly looked Erwin straight in the eyes and resolutely stated, "I made the choice I would regret the least."

They held each other's gazes for several painfully long minutes before Erwin shook his head in surrender. "Well, it's not like I can do anything now but complain about how much stress you two have dumped on me. I can't exactly tell you to un-mate each other or to un-pregnate him so you can stop glaring at me like that."

Levi smirked, suddenly feeling a lot less tense with how defeated Erwin sounded. He used the opportunity to shout instructions at his squad, sending them off to run a few laps before stretching to finish off the training. Then he gave his attention back to Erwin, who looked like he wanted to start asking further questions. "What is it?"

"Did you talk about who you are going to tell about Eren?"

Levi immediately turned suspicious. "A little, why?"

"Just asking. Can you tell me who you two have in mind?"

Levi narrowed his eyes. He had a feeling he won't like where this conversation would be heading. Still, he reluctantly opened his mouth. "I'm pretty sure you know I don't have anyone besides you, Hanji, Mike and Nanaba that I trust or care to tell shit. So I guess you want to know about Eren."

Erwin nodded silently, only making Levi more wary. "He's telling his sister and childhood friend as soon as you give the go ahead. And then probably one other friend if he gets over his pride." Erwin raised an eyebrow at that. Levi explained quickly. "Jean, the guy who was Eren's body double in Stohess."

"Ah," Erwin nodded, understanding perfectly what Levi meant.

"But eventually he wants to tell all his friends from his trainee days. Now will you tell me what the deal is?"

Erwin was quietly contemplating for a few minutes, completely ignoring Levi's impatient prompting.

Levi was about ready to punch Erwin for his creepy behavior when he finally opened his mouth. "If Eren trusts his sister and those two friends with all three of your lives, you can tell them whenever. And I don't really have any complaints about the rest either. It would make sense to tell them since they are now a part of your squad and in charge of protecting Eren as well, besides just being his friends. But if you can wait with that, then I would appreciate it."

Levi's frown deepened. "You're planning something."

"I always am."

Levi rolled his eyes, crossing his arms irritably. "You know what I mean, you big shit."

Erwin chuckled but shook his head. "It's just an idea, not a solid plan yet. But I will let you know when it's time, like always."

"I trust you, Erwin," Levi stated slowly, "but I swear; if put Eren in danger on purpose..."

Erwin smiled. "You just said it, Levi. If you trust me, then don't worry."

Levi scoffed and looked away, still feeling uneasy over this 'idea' Erwin had but decided to not dwell on it for now.

Noticing the kids had finished their run and started stretching, Levi was about to head off to talk to them without looking back at Erwin.

However, Erwin called after him before he did more than two steps, clear warning in his voice, though Levi heard the underlying worry as well, "Just be careful, Levi."

Levi looked back over his shoulder with a raised eyebrow, echoing Erwin's earlier remark challengingly, "I always am. Do I have to remind you how you even found out at all?"

Erwin frowned a little, only more worried now with Levi's obvious confidence. "People fuck up, Levi. Do I have to remind you how I even found out at all?"

"Touché."

"Keep it in mind, Captain."

Levi rolled his eyes at the title, waving Erwin off and finally leaving to relate his observations throughout the training to his squad.

Next time, Sasha and Connie needed to be split up. Same with Ymir and Krista. Neither of them would get any better if Ymir didn't try. Ymir would have to fight with Mikasa from now on. He had a feeling Ymir could fight if she tried; just needed a reason to. And Mikasa would be a pretty good reason. Hopefully she won't disappoint Levi and prove to be good enough so Mikasa would improve, too. Otherwise he would have to be Mikasa's sparring partner himself.

Armin was rapidly getting better with how much effort he put into training, desperately trying to get on the same level as his friends. Jean, Reiner and Bertholt really just needed to fight, fight and fight. All of them had to get better if they wanted to survive and other than experience and training, there was no way to do that.

As Levi gave them pointers to correct their techniques while they stretched thoroughly, he thought that maybe Erwin was right. They needed to be careful, at least until these brats got good enough to protect Eren and their kid. Luckily they were learning quickly and improving each day but there was still a long way to go before he trusted their skills and especially them as people enough to share the responsibility for his brats' safety with them. As much as he wanted to believe in Eren's judgment, he'd rather make his own opinion of them first.

He was still contemplating this as he dismissed the group and took off towards the castle before he was rudely torn away from his thoughts.

"Captain!" a girl's voice called after him and he turned around to see Mikasa jogging towards him.

"What is it?" he asked when she was close enough for him not to have to shout.

"Sir, I wanted to ask where Eren was. He didn't say anything at breakfast and he doesn't normally miss training unless he's recovering from transformations." She looked worried, even Levi could tell that from her expression.

He looked around, noticing that everyone else had left already except for Armin, who was lingering nearby, obviously waiting for Mikasa and any news she might get from Levi. Deeming it safe to talk, he answered her honestly, "He's with Hanji. She's giving him a full checkup."

Mikasa's eyebrows drew together at that. "But he had a checkup the day before yesterday and he had no transformations since."

Levi paused, contemplating how much he could tell her, before he opted for the censored truth. "Well, there was something in his blood results that needed to be looked at properly."

Now she looked even more worried. Just great, Levi thought. "What was it? Is it bad? Is he sick?"

Levi stopped her before she could go look for her brother to make sure he was alright herself. "He's fine, it's nothing bad. He will tell you what's going on soon, so calm down."

Mikasa looked like she wanted to protest but thought better of it and instead just saluted her superior. "Thank you, sir. I'll take my leave now."

Levi just nodded and watched as she walked away with Armin, who looked like he was asking what she found out.

Being faced with how much Eren's closest friends cared about him made him feel a weird warmth in his chest but then again, remembering how skilled Mikasa was with her swords and how smart Armin was, he made a mental note to ask Eren for a heads up before he tells them. He'd rather not wake up one day to find out he had been castrated in his sleep.

* * *

 **A/N:** I feel like this chapter is kind of awkward... ㅠ.ㅠ I tried. If you noticed any weird wording or something, don't hesitate to let me know and I'll try fixing it :)

If you know where the "plot" is heading, rise your hand.


	4. A Little Bundle of Interrogation

Eren stood in the hallway, staring at the door like everything wrong with the world was its fault. Somehow, the longer he stared, the bigger and more intimidating it seemed to be. The hallway was closing in on him.

He didn't want to go in there.

He really, really didn't.

Honestly, he wanted to run and hide somewhere safe but he was pretty sure Hanji would hunt him down all the same. He had enough trouble escaping her the day before, when they left the Commander's office. He only managed so when he promised to tell her everything she wanted to know – within reason – when he comes for the checkup.

Now he deeply regretted his careless words. The Walls only knew what she was going to ask him and he was already embarrassed. But what was done was done and he had never been one to run away anyway.

But still. He _so_ didn't want to.

He didn't know how long he stood there before he took a deep breath and raised his hand to knock.

Hanji opened up immediately with a wide, manic grin on her face. "I was wondering if you were ever going to knock or if you'd just stand there until I came to get you myself."

Eren felt his ears heating up at being caught as he followed a cackling Hanji inside the lab. He automatically went straight to the examination table in the center of the room. He hopped on it and held his breath, hoping he was waiting for instructions and not a questioning assault.

Hanji rummaged in her things for a while, taking out some injections and vials, several bottles with different chemicals, a stethoscope, a big stack of papers that was Eren's personal medical records, along with the research done on him, before turning to face Eren.

She clapped her hands, smiling brightly and the omega only felt more unsettled. "Okay, you know the drill. Shirt off."

Eren gave her a suspicious look as he hesitantly took off his uniform jacket, undid the upper part of the gear straps and started peeling off his shirt. During the whole process Hanji watched him carefully like a hawk, seemingly vibrating in place and obviously trying to keep herself somewhat calm.

"Ahhh, I can't take it anymore!" Hanji cried before the boy even managed to pull the shirt over his head. She ran towards him with a squeal, hugging him around the middle and burying her face into his stomach. To say Eren was panicking would be an understatement.

He froze in place, in the awkward position of head stuck in shirt, arms raised and tangled into said shirt, letting out weird sounds on the verge of confused, questioning hums and shocked chokes. Meanwhile, Hanji just gushed on and on while rubbing her face on his abs. "Oh, I'm so excited! I can't wait to meet you, you teeny tiny human, you. We're gonna have so much fun together, you're gonna love my lab! I wonder, are you a girl or a boy? Is it too soon to ask? Well, it doesn't matter; I bet you're gonna be the most adorable little thing either way!"

Suddenly, her head snapped up, to look at Eren, who was apparently still in shock. "Say, Eren, can I name him? Her? Whichever? Pretty please!"

Eren blinked a few times into the green fabric, finally snapping out of the stupor Hanji threw him into at the sound of his name. It was a struggle to free himself of the shirt as he was still disoriented a bit, but when he finally managed, he looked down towards the weight hanging off his waist only to be met with sparkling eyes full of excitement and a grin so wide he briefly wondered how her face hadn't split yet.

"Umm," he started, decidedly uncomfortable. "Don't you think it's too soon to think about names?" The chuckle that followed was a little high pitched and tense. He didn't know how to tell her he didn't trust her to pick a name for his child. He didn't want them to end up with a weird name like... Pea... or Wheat... or something... in honor of the late Bean.

She wasn't deterred though. "It's never too early for names!"

Eren looked away for a moment, deciding to shift the responsibility of destroying this girl's dreams. It wasn't just his child after all. "Umm, try asking Levi?"

He wasn't looking but he still felt her smile drop a little. "The meanie will never let me, I know it." Eren was about to give in at the pouty, sad voice but luckily, Hanji was quick to recover. "Well, I'll do my best. I still have lots of time to convince him! And so many name ideas already, you two are bound to like some of them."

"Okay," the boy sighed in relief. There was silence for a few moments with Eren hoping she would finally let him go but Hanji seemed more than content squashing her face into him. "Umm, Hanji, you're kind off... suffocating me..."

"Oh!" Hanji squeezed him one last time, mumbling a 'Bye' to his baby and let the boy go at last. "Sorry, I'm just so excited! It's just great that the Corps are having a baby!"

Eren looked away. "The Commander doesn't think so, though. _You_ didn't think so just yesterday," he remarked quietly, half hoping she won't hear him. He didn't really know how to feel about Hanji's excitement now, especially considering the conversation from yesterday. He was kind of happy that she was happy about it but he still felt wary. How could she make such one-eighty so fast? It felt weird.

On the other hand, this was Hanji. She was the definition of weird. Levi's words.

The woman gave him an understanding smile. "Oh, I was really happy right when I realized what was going on, I just didn't think it would be wise to keep it and that dropped my mood down considerably. Now we know we have to let you keep it, even if it won't be easy and we will have to be quite careful. But either way it means I can be excited all I want!" Her happy grin was back and Eren couldn't help but smile in return.

"And trust me." Suddenly, there was a mischievous spark in her eyes. "Erwin might look like he's anything but happy about the little one now, but once he actually sees them, he's gonna melt straight down into a big, blond puddle of goo. Only the eyebrows will stay." She laughed in amusement, more when she noticed the doubtful look on Eren's face. "No, really. I've known him for a long time and I can guarantee he's going to gush and spoil the kid rotten. Even more than Levi."

Eren still looked like he didn't believe her. He shook his head with a small smile. "If you say so."

She just stuck her tongue out at him, "Of course I say so. And I'm always right. Just you wait a few months and you'll see."

Eren chuckled at her conviction and it struck him how Hanji really didn't feel like his superior officer. By now, he saw her more as a friend than anything. He wasn't sure how to feel about that. It was a strange realization.

Luckily, he didn't have to dwell on it for too long since Hanji suddenly jumped and exclaimed, "Anyway, we have gathered here today for a reason and it's not to talk about Erwin, nor his eyebrows. Let's get down to business." She turned around, grabbing the stethoscope from where she left it, taking a few steps to get behind Eren.

The boy felt Hanji put the contraption on his back and started breathing deeply, just as was always required for this.

"So," Hanji drawled casually, "how is Levi in bed?"

Eren choked.

It took him a while to stop coughing but when he did, he only felt his whole face turning red. "Hanji! What the hell?"

"What? You promised to tell me everything!"

"Within bounds! This is definitely outside those bounds! And I thought we were done talking!"

"Done talking about Erwin," Hanji pointed out. "What's the big deal anyway? Come on, tell me! Please!"

"No. You have no need to know about... _that!_ "

"But I'm curious! I was _so_ sure Levi was gonna die a virgin and now he's having a baby! How can you deny me this?!"

"I don't care! No!"

"Fiiiine," the scientist pouted, a little whine in her voice.

Eren huffed, satisfied with his win.

There was silence as Hanji listened to his lungs, then his heart, and soon putting the stethoscope away and writing some notes at her desk.

"So what's your favorite position?"

"HANJI!"

* * *

Hanji was still coming down from her laughing fit and Eren was still beet red 5 minutes later. They didn't get any work done since Eren came into the lab. It looked like they were going to take a while and he was starting to worry he'd miss the afternoon training too, as if the morning one wasn't enough. "Can we move on?" he barked at the still-occasionally-snorting woman.

At his annoyed voice, she straightened up and coughed a little to bring herself under control. She found it particularly difficult, though, as every time she looked at Eren's scrunched up, red face, she felt ready to burst into laughter all over again. The boy was just too precious in his embarrassment.

It still took her another few minutes to be able to talk seriously again. "Okay, okay, I'll stop teasing now. I'll leave your sex life be. I'll go harass Levi later though," she added with a smirk and Eren groaned.

"Please, don't."

Hanji smiled fondly as Eren hid his face in his hands in despair, even though she could hear the faint smile in his voice. She bet he wanted to witness her driving his alpha crazy with intrusive questions and in her mind she swore to do her best to assure that he did.

"Anyway, I'm going to take a few vials of your blood. I have to do some tests, see if there's something that shouldn't, and everything that should. We should try to see if we can find out how far along you are. Do you have an estimate?"

Eren shrugged. "Not really. I've known for sure for about a week and I started noticing the changes a week before that, I think? But I don't really know exactly _when_ it happened."

Hanji hummed a little as she started thinking, tapping a pen on her lips. "So about three weeks, I'd say. I'm no expert on omegan pregnancy, much less a male one, but from what I gather from the one book we had here for some reason, you're supposed to be able to tell just in a few days. Your body stops producing eggs pretty much immediately and as a result, your testicles start shrinking and withdrawing back into your body. That process should be noticeable in about four days since conception or so. I suppose you realized this happening sometime two weeks ago?" she shot a questioning look at the boy, who only nodded, a little pink back in his cheeks. "And then your nipples started getting more sensitive and pronounced, slight pressure appeared in your abdomen from your organs repositioning. Am I right?"

"Yeah," Eren nodded again, blushing a little more still. It felt weird, talking about this.

"And what convinced you that you knew for sure? You said it took you another week to know for sure, even though all the signs were there," Hanji asked curiously.

Eren shrugged a little helplessly. "I didn't want to believe it at that point, you know? But then... I don't know, I guess it was more instinctual than anything in the beginning? Like, I would mess up in training, nearly hitting a tree mid-maneuver, and instead of covering my head I covered my stomach, stuff like that. So coupled with the... physical stuff, the idea went through my head weather I might be pregnant. I just started to seriously consider the possibility, when..."

The omega looked unsure as he trailed off so Hanji gave him an encouraging nod.

"Um, do you remember? A little over a week ago, Levi and Commander Erwin left to go to the town for some meeting with the Military police there. They stayed overnight."

Hanji furrowed her brows at that. Could it be...? But she never saw the mark, neither on Eren nor on Levi. And Eren was sitting half naked right in front of her. It didn't make sense.

Eren smirked kind of wryly, raising his right hand to massage where his neck and shoulder connected. "The mark healed but the bond is still there, thank god. At least something stayed."

Hanji grinned. This was the most interesting. It didn't even occur to her that the mating mark wasn't visible thanks to Eren's regeneration skills. But now that she heard it from Eren, it made sense. She also suddenly remembered Levi mentioning they were mated yesterday; it must have slipped her mind in all the confusion.

It explained how Eren got convinced through his denial also.

Generally, bonds worked as immediate SOS signal for mates to know the other was in danger. But sometimes even long separation, the strong feelings of missing the other got through. Male omegas were usually stronger, physically as well as emotionally, then their female counterparts. And Eren was especially independent even for a male omega. That meant his and Levi's bond needed a lot stronger stimulus to act up on the base of loneliness than was the standard. But pregnancy puts a lot of stress on the body as well as the mind and it causes omegas to need their mates as close to them as possible. At the same time, alphas aware of their omega's pregnancy feel an intense need to protect both their omegas and their children and they don't want them to leave their sight if at all possible. All in all, pregnant mated pairs of alpha and omega don't handle separation well. Comparatively, betas have much easier time with pregnancies.

Last week's trip wasn't Levi's first one since last month nor was it the longest. If Eren and Levi never felt the pull of the bond during those longer separation periods, there was logically no reason for them to feel it this time. Unless there was someone else needing extra protection.

"How long have you been bonded?" Hanji inquired. It had to be quite recent since she never noticed Levi wearing the mark. He didn't have Eren's titan regeneration, so it had to be there.

"Oh, well, since right after we returned from the female titan expedition."

Hanji's jaw dropped. That was what, three months, three months and a half? How did she never notice before?

Eren laughed at her flabbergasted expression, immediately understanding the source of the shock as her eyes travelled to his neck. "It's under his cravat. He wears it just high enough to hide the mark completely."

Hanji blinked a few times before her head dropped on her desk with a loud bang. She didn't move at all for several moments before she started laughing hysterically. Eren could only laugh right along with her. When he thought about it, it was a pretty ridiculously convenient coincidence that Levi liked wearing an accessory that could pretty much specifically hide incriminating evidence of his illicit relationship.

But somehow, Eren was grateful to that stupid piece of cloth; he was glad he couldn't normally see Levi's mating mark. That way it didn't constantly remind him his own lack of it. The lack that made him feel angry, regretful and guilty. He didn't have anything to show the world he was taken, anything to show for his love. He couldn't give Levi the feelings of pride and warmth in his chest that Eren always felt when he could admire his own mark on Levi's neck. It was beautiful. Levi was _his_ and he was _Levi's_. But Eren couldn't give Levi the satisfaction for having a visible proof of that fact and that made him angry at himself. He _wanted_ that mark but he could never have it.

Levi often told he didn't mind Eren's mark evaporated off into nothing. That as long as the bond stayed where it was supposed to stay, he was more than happy. But the words didn't change Eren longing for Levi's mark, any mark to stay longer than a few minutes. It made him sad, like nothing ever happened between them. He knew he was being stupid, that he wouldn't be able to show off the marks anyway, but he wanted that feeling of looking at himself and knowing he belonged to someone.

It was only Hanji's voice that snapped him out of his melancholic thoughts. "Eren, are you okay?"

Eren shook his head, "It's nothing, just lost in thoughts." He grinned at her to assure her he was okay. And he really was, he loved Levi and he knew Levi loved him. And that was all that mattered in the end. "Anyway, shouldn't we continue with the examination?"

Hanji slapped her forehead. "Right. We should, that's why we're here after all." Eren snickered. It was obvious Hanji completely forgot their actual purpose today. "Lie down on the table, I'll take that blood from you and then check your stomach and stuff."

Eren complied, watching Hanji disinfecting her needles with alcohol, then moving on to disinfect his arm where she was going to stick the needle as well.

She gave him a sly grin as she worked and Eren's heart dropped. Obviously, the interrogation wasn't over just because they returned to work.

"So, Eren," she sang sweetly, "I told you I expected Levi to go to his grave without ever knowing one of the pleasures of this world. I just can't imagine how you managed to persuade him. I know for a fact you weren't the first to try."

Eren turned red once again and refused to look at the nosy maniac.

"Come on, spill. You promised!" She started persistently poking him with an empty vial until Eren had enough and opened his mouth.

"Well... I wasn't... the one who started it."

* * *

 **A/N:** Hope it was okay, this chapter turned out a little different than I originally intended... ^^;; Also sorry for how it ended? I wanted the flashback to have it's own chapter ╮ (. ❛ ᴗ ❛.) ╭

Anyway, school started this week and it's pretty much a rollercoaster for me (and it's only the third day). I hope to keep up the weekly updates but it really depends on how I hold up in the future OTL


	5. A Little Bundle of Mate

"Say, Eren. Do you hate me?"

That's probably where it all started. Eren was sitting on the couch in one of the rooms that had been provided to the Survey corps, still all bloody after the beating Levi gave him in the court. Of course Eren didn't blame him; everyone explained that it was all staged, an act to ensure his survival.

But Levi seemed to be thinking otherwise. Eren jumped when the alpha, Humanity's strongest soldier, his idol, threw himself on the couch next to him, the monster, the titan, the enemy of mankind. Didn't he want to be as far away from him as possible? Wasn't he disgusted by him?

When Levi asked his question, Eren was able to detect a little insecurity in his body language. It wasn't obvious, Levi hid it more than well and he doubted anyone untrained would be able to tell, but the omega spent the last 6 years of his life living with Mikasa-the-expressionless.

Still, Eren couldn't quite believe it. The great Captain Levi asking _him_ whether he hated him. The boy barely managed to stutter out his reply.

It seemed almost surreal how Levi's body relaxed with relief.

* * *

The next day the group of soldiers under Captain Levi's direct order left for the castle. The ride was long and slow and it was hell for Eren as his body was still sore even though now pretty much fully healed.

If his hurting body wasn't enough, he felt on edge the whole time, surrounded by all these skilled people, ready to kill him at a moment's notice. He just couldn't relax, couldn't even feel the tiniest bit of excitement over the fact he was now a part of this group. A part of the Survey corps' elite squad, like he'd dreamed of since he was a little kid. He could only feel the nerves. And on top of everything, he kept feeling someone's eyes on him. He knew they were going to watch him closely but to do so constantly was unnecessary! It was not like he was going to turn into a titan just like that.

He carefully turned around when he finally lost his patience. He at least wanted to know who didn't trust him this much.

His eyes widened when they met with the Captain's unfazed ones. Eren immediately turned back around in embarrassment and confusion.

* * *

Eren couldn't believe this.

Humanity's strongest was a complete clean freak.

He cleaned these rooms top to bottom at least three times already but it still wasn't enough. Where was the dirt anyway? He couldn't even tell what was dirty and what was clean anymore.

Not that he minded the cleaning, really. He just wanted to please his superior and it was so frustrating that he couldn't do it. He only kept disappointing him instead.

Eren heaved a deep sigh as he ran one last look over the final room on the top floor, trying to see if there still was something he missed. Finding no such signs, he pulled down the handkerchief covering his mouth, readying himself to report to Levi he was finished. Hopefully for the last time.

He yelped when he turned around only to find the alpha in question standing in the doorway, appraising Eren's work with critical eye. Eren saluted stiffly as Levi looked at him with a blank expression.

"This work is acceptable." Eren sighed with relief, his whole body relaxing. Levi stepped back out of the room, gesturing for Eren to follow, "I'll show you where you're going to sleep."

Eren's heart dropped as he recalled the conversation he had with the man earlier. He really didn't want to sleep in the basement but didn't dare protest. "Yes sir."

The walk down the stairs was silent until they reached the door leading underground. Levi then stopped, his hand on the handle. "This is where you're going to sleep. The closest bathroom is down the hall, the mess hall the other way."

Eren looked the ways Levi pointed to and hoped he won't get lost the first opportunity he'd get, eyeing all the doors on both sides of the hallway dubiously. At the creaking of the door opening he looked back ahead only to see Levi was already halfway to the bottom. He almost fell right down the stairs hurrying after his superior.

When he finally found his balance and looked up, he could only stare. He couldn't believe how clean and nice the basement room looked. Was it even possible for an underground, stony, moldy room to be this clean?

Levi spoke up then in an indifferent tone, also looking the room over, "This will be your room from now on. Sorry it's the basement so it's not really convenient or nice. Honestly, it's a shitty room. But those were the conditions and there's nothing we can do. I tried to make it as inhabitable as possible, though."

Eren openly gaped at the alpha. Was he being serious right now? "I... Sir, I understand why I have to sleep in the basement, you... You really don't have to apologize."

Levi slowly turned his head to look at Eren and the boy gulped loudly before continuing, "I'm sorry but... Did you say _you_ tried to... Did _you_ prepare this room for me, sir?"

Levi shrugged, looking away. "It was disgusting in here. And I thought it was the least I could do after yesterday."

Eren blushed. He couldn't help it; his idol especially cleaned his room for him. "I really don't blame you for yesterday, sir. Actually, I think I should thank you. You saved my life. Really, thank you very much, Captain Levi," Eren said maybe more loudly than strictly necessary, saluting.

Levi looked away again. "At ease, Eren. You really have nothing to thank me for. As Hanji said, I took it further than was necessary. Are you okay, now?"

"But I do, sir. If you hadn't made it believable, I might have been on a military police operating table somewhere right now." Eren paused, smiling a little before continuing, "Thank you; for your concern as well. I fully healed overnight so I am completely okay."

Levi looked him in the eye for a long while, not saying anything. Eren started to feel uncomfortable, taking a breath to ask what was wrong, before, "Liar, you looked ready to fall off your damn horse the whole way here."

Eren opened his mouth to deny the accusation but found he couldn't. It was true, after all; the ride wasn't the most comfortable one. He then blushed when he realized what this meant. Sure, he could be wrong but he had a feeling he wasn't. Levi wasn't watching him the whole time to make sure he didn't rebel or try to run. He watched him because he was _worried_. A small smile appeared on Eren's face even through the embarrassment. "I was just a little sore. No need to worry, sir, I promise."

"What the hell are you smiling about, brat?" Eren was pretty sure he didn't imagine the slight pink tint that appeared on Levi's cheeks.

"Nothing, sir."

"Thought so. Get settled here and come to the mess hall for dinner."

"Yes sir," Eren nodded, still smiling.

Levi stared at the smiling face for a few seconds before letting out a small 'tch' and walking out. As he passed by Eren, he couldn't help but ruffle the brat's hair. He wasn't sure who was more surprised by the action, Eren or himself. Levi didn't let anything show, just continued on. However, before he left the basement, he stopped and looked back down. The boy was staring right back at him with wide eyes, blushing deeply, a hand touching his hair. Levi had to swallow at the sight. "Try not to take too long or the food will get cold."

Eren could only nod as the alpha shut the door after himself.

Unknowingly, both their minds were echoing each other.

They were so fucked.

* * *

If the next day the situation wasn't so bad with Hanji's pet titans getting killed, Levi would laugh at how half-dead Eren looked. It's not like he didn't know what was likely going to happen when the whole squad left him alone with Hanji, the kid would have to learn not to provoke the mad scientist sooner or later anyway, but the look on his face was still hilariously cute.

And when the Captain saw the confused look, those cutely furrowed brows, how his mouth hung slightly open, not knowing what to say when Erwin asked his weird questions, that was when Levi decided. This omega was too precious to be left alone.

* * *

In the next few days Levi made it a point to always oversee what Eren was doing. It was not like that wasn't his job anyway.

He was always the one to spar with Eren, he was always following closely behind him during 3DMG training, he would assign cleaning duties so that Eren was always on the same floor as him. And of course he was always there when Hanji conducted her experiments.

During his careful observation the alpha learned a few things. About Eren as well as himself.

At first he wanted the kid because he was terribly cute but he was very soon reminded of the intrigue he felt when they first met in that courthouse cell. Eren was a stupidly determined young man. He didn't know how to give up until he reached his goal, whether it be washing dishes, learning a difficult new maneuver, or defeating titans (singlehandedly; how ridiculous can he get?) He was remarkably strong for an omega and although not particularly talented in any one skill, his overall abilities were well above average of typical newly recruited members.

He was also very eager to please, listening well to his senior squad members and giving them due respect, even while Auruo was making a complete idiot out of himself.

He was considerate, taking over Petra's kitchen duty one day when she hurt her hand during training.

He learned quickly. It took him only a week to learn how to clean up to Levi's standards on the first try.

Levi also learned that his stone cold heart wasn't so cold in the end as it was apparently capable of jealousy. When Eren's friends from training arrived, Levi saw how happy Eren was to see them and also how disturbingly close he was with Mikasa and Armin.

The alpha wasn't worried about Armin; he was a beta and obviously didn't care for Eren that way, but Mikasa. Mikasa was an alpha. Levi tried to reason with himself that they were siblings, he was just imagining things, but still. They weren't real siblings. Mikasa was adopted and they only lived together for a year before the wall fell. It's not like they grew up together, having to fight over toys and their parent's attention. And on top of that, he had a feeling the girl was doing her very best to keep him as far from Eren as possible.

It took him a few days of watching Mikasa monopolize Eren to realize he really, really didn't like it.

* * *

Of course, Hanji's experiments didn't always go well. Especially since no one really knew how Eren's abilities worked exactly. Especially the first time they tried a transformation. That didn't go well in any sense of the word.

They put Eren into an old, dried up well and told him to transform on signal. He didn't.

Hanji wondered if he maybe didn't see the signal but Levi knew there was no way he could miss the green flare. He could feel it in his gut that something went wrong.

When his eyes fell on Eren in that well, scared and obviously in pain, blood gushing everywhere from several deep bite marks on both his hands and running down his mouth, Levi's stomach dropped. He wanted to gag at the sight of the helpless omega who looked like he was on the verge of whining for help but biting down on the sound, fighting down his deep-rooted instincts.

The alpha immediately ordered for the experiment to be stopped and pulled Eren out.

He was glad Eren seem alright, if a little shaken and with wounds that refused to heal for some reason. It was shitty that the Titan-shifting mystery deepened even more, but at least the boy was alive and as well as could be.

When an explosion sounded behind Levi as he peacefully sipped at his tea and talked to Petra, he cursed himself for speaking too fast.

For the first time in a long time, Levi felt scared. He was scared when he saw Eren half-sitting on top of a giant arm in panic, scared when he was surrounded by Levi's own squad with their swords drawn and ready to kill, firing questions at Eren but not letting him answer. Scared of how they were obviously panicking even more than Eren and how that only made everything worse.

Never in his life was Levi happier to see Hanji or more grateful that she couldn't read the atmosphere. Walls knew what would happen if she didn't come when she did.

Levi had been scared for Eren and that in turn scared him even more. He didn't think he would ever be able to care for anyone this much since Isabel and Farlan. He realized he didn't just want to fuck Eren. He wanted the boy for himself, cute smiles and angry shouting and all.

* * *

When they got back after the incident, everyone was on edge but Hanji, who was highly excited and immediately ran off somewhere, probably to her lab, shouting back at them to wait for her in the mess hall. Moblit ran after her, as always trying and failing to keep her in check. The squad members looked at each other and shuffled off together towards the mess hall. Levi was left alone with Eren.

He glanced at the boy and saw the frustrated look on his face, the clenched fists and the stiff posture.

"Eren," Levi said quietly and watched as Eren's head snapped in his direction. "Follow me."

The Captain took off in the direction of the mess hall but passed the room and lead Eren towards the staircase a little ways behind it.

He leaned against the wall and looked at Eren who was looking right back at him, confusion written all over his face.

"Talk."

Eren gaped at him. "S-Sir?"

Levi leaned his head on the wall and closed his eyes for a moment. When he opened them again, he tried to elaborate. "You obviously need to talk about this. I'm here to listen and explain the other side of things. Hanji's gonna take a while so we can take our time." God, he was so bad at this; he just hoped Eren understood what he was trying to do.

They held eye-contact for a little while before Eren looked on down and shuffled slowly towards the stairs, sitting down. The omega was silent for several more minutes and Levi let him mull over his thoughts, but finally he opened up. Levi was glad.

They talked until they heard Moblit coming down the stairs, saying Hanji was calling for them.

Levi heaved a sigh, "Let's go."

"Y-Yes sir." Eren scrambled after him, clumsily trying to get up immediately.

Levi stood a few steps above him, staring, fighting an inner battle.

He could hear Moblit left already. They were alone again.

"Sir?" There was the confused look again. Why was this kid so fucking cute?

Levi went back down again, stopping on the step just above Eren, looking him straight in the eyes. "It's gonna be okay, Eren," he said quietly before he grabbed the omega's face and gave him a quick but firm kiss on the mouth.

To say Eren was shocked would be a massive understatement. Levi let out a small smile at the blush that was rapidly spreading over the younger's face.

"We'll talk more later."

* * *

Hanji was grinning from ear to ear as Eren talked more and more quietly, blushing more and more as his story progressed.

But Hanji couldn't help it. She wasn't trying to tease him but they were just so cute, it was impossible.

"Anyway, that evening Levi came down to the basement and we talked a lot about a lot of stuff and... our... _our feelings_ , okay?" he muttered the last part in a rush, as if hoping Hanji wouldn't understand what he was saying if he said it fast enough. Hanji's cheeks hurt from smiling so much. "We also... kind of fought if it was even possible to have a relationship... He _is_ my direct superior and charge of me and all that... In the end we decided to leave it and see what happens. By the next week we realized we were practically together already without... consciously realizing. Might as well go along with it." Eren shrugged helplessly, looking around like something – probably Levi – might materialize out of nowhere to come to his aid.

"And?" Hanji prodded curiously.

Eren looked back at her with a confused look. "And? And nothing, we've been together since then."

Hanji rolled her eyes. "Oh come on, Eren. The mating? How did you mate?"

Eren looked at her scandalized. "You want to know how we mated? No way! That's..." the omega trailed off, covering his face in embarrassment, no doubt remembering the event.

"No, no, don't worry," Hanji laughed loudly, "I don't want a step by step, it's not like I really want to hear what you two do at night, I'm just teasing when I ask about it." She winked and the boy scowled.

"Your teasing is _not_ funny."

"Oh but it is, you just can't appreciate it," she grinned mischievously and Eren rolled his eyes at her. "No, what I meant was more about, how did it come to that? It's a big decision to make; you had to have a good reason."

"Oh..." Eren looked away, lost in thought. "Well, after we came back from the expedition where..." he gulped heavily and Hanji's smile drooped a bit, "where Petra and the others died... that evening, as soon as we were alone, Levi just announced he wanted to mate me. He said he just couldn't handle the thought that I might just die next time and he wouldn't even know until he came back inside the walls. He..." Eren closed his eyes at the painful memory. "He was _crying_ , Hanji. _Levi_ was. He really needed the bond and I didn't have a reason to say no since I felt exactly the same. I needed the assurance as well. I still need it and I doubt I would ever _not_ need it. It tells me Levi is safe, that he is nearby if I ever need him."

Hanji felt like she fell down a really tall tree without her gear. One moment she was holding back high-pitched squeals and suddenly she felt like crying.

She gave Eren a soft smile, not commenting on what he just told her. Instead she stretched and moaned as her back popped. "Well, we should wrap this up. We've been here so long and I still need to write up that stupid report for Erwin. I don't understand why he wants it on paper when he's going to burn it anyway," Hanji pouted at the image of wasted work.

"Do you need to do any other tests?"

Hanji hummed; she was pretty sure she forgot something in her excitement from Eren's talking. "I can't think of anything. If I remember I missed a test, I'll call for you, okay?"

Eren nodded with a smile, "Okay."

"Great. Run along to lunch or you won't eat until dinner. I'm pretty sure the mate wouldn't like that."

"Damn right he wouldn't."

The two jumped. They didn't hear anyone coming in. "Levi! What are you doing here?" Hanji questioned, clutching at her heart.

The short alpha just rolled his eyes at her dramatics. "Checking if you hadn't killed him, yet. What the hell is taking you so long, lunch is almost over."

Hanji scratched her head in embarrassment. "Sorry, we lost track of time. But we're finished already, so go on along!"

Levi shot her a glare at her unapologetic tone, but she just had to smile when he reached out to help Eren jump off the examination table. Who knew Levi could be so sweet?

* * *

 **A/N:** Honestly, I feel pretty insecure about this chapter so it would be really nice if you could tell me what you thought? ^^;;


	6. A Little Bundle of Inquisition

**A/N:** Guuuys, why are you so nice to me? I honestly don't deserve any of you or your beautiful reviews ㅠ.ㅠ You keep me going when school gets hard and I love you, every single one of you for that. Really, thank you so much! ꒰⌯͒•̩̩̩́ ᴗ •̩̩̩̀⌯͒꒱

* * *

Eren dutifully followed Levi out of Hanji's lab but was surprised when instead of into the mess hall the alpha led him into a random empty room.

"Levi?" Eren questioned as soon as the door was closed after him.

Levi sighed but went straight to the point, "I talked with Erwin."

Eren felt his stomach drop with nerves. All these what-ifs started running around in circles in his head. Did Erwin change his mind? Did someone find out?

The change in Eren's posture didn't escape Levi's notice and he shook his head immediately, reaching out to grab his omega's hand, rubbing soothing circles over his wrist. "No, don't worry; it was nothing bad. He just needed to complain to someone." He was glad to feel the tension leave his mate's body little by little. "But he said you can go ahead and tell Mikasa, Armin and Jean whenever." Aaand the tension was right back. Levi almost had to smirk as he looked up at Eren's face to bask in the glorious scrunched up expression of distaste. It was obvious he wasn't looking forward to that conversation.

Eren groaned, slumping forward into Levi and hiding his face in the older's neck. "I don't want to."

Levi chuckled as he ruffled Eren's hair fondly, "I know you don't but you're going to have to, sooner or later."

"I know but I hoped I would have more time to mentally prepare myself. Mikasa's going to be so pissed. We will fight then she'll leave in a fit because I won't listen to her and instead go pick a fight with _you._ Armin will try to make me feel guilty for not telling him sooner, while grinning like an idiot and then he'll start overthinking everything. And Horseface will just keep making fun of me," Eren finally finished with his rant in a drawn out whine.

Levi smiled crookedly, kissing the side of Eren's head. The kid was just too cute sometimes. "I'll talk to her when she comes to me but you're such a brat, you know it will just get worse the more you postpone it."

"Can't you just nod along and pretend to sympathize with me for a minute?" Eren growled in frustration.

"Nope. I need to make you angry so you actually do something about it. Just give me a warning before you do. To prepare the battlefield."

"I hate you," Eren mumbled as he nuzzled deeper into Levi.

Levi smiled, massaging his mate's head. "I hate you, too."

* * *

After a rushed lunch Eren was glad to finally be able to attend training, to Levi's belated horror and Mikasa's relief. The girl ran to him as soon as she saw him coming, showering him in questions about his whereabouts earlier that day and the day before and his well-being, while Eren tried his best to evade her inquiries. Not that he was good at it but he could still try.

Mikasa would have none of it though and she finally had enough after a few minutes of fruitless back and forth. She grabbed his elbow to prevent him from running away from her and leaned close to his face, staring straight into his eyes from such a small distance that it made it difficult for Eren to look anywhere else. "Eren, you _will_ tell me what the hell is going on or I swear I'm not going to let you go _anywhere_ alone," she growled, trying to assert her alpha dominance. As if it ever worked on her stubborn brother.

At that Eren snapped, not having the patience for this alpha bullshit. "Mikasa, stop it! I can't fucking tell you right now and honestly, I don't even have any obligation to tell you every little thing going on with me! I was planning on telling you later tonight but if you're still planning on babying me like you did when we were _9_ , you can forget it!" Eren shouted back at her, knowing fully well on rational level that he was overreacting. Mikasa was only worried about him but he could never control the bursts of emotions.

As always when their arguments got to the point of shouting, it was Armin who had to step in and calm them both down, assuring Eren that they won't push him to tell them anything but they would appreciate not being kept in the dark completely, and then assuring Mikasa that Eren will tell them when he's ready. Always the peace keeper of the little group.

Eren had to take several deep breaths to calm down, being careful not to look at Mikasa or Armin as he tried to keep control of his voice, "After dinner come to my room but please don't talk about this with anyone, okay?"

Mikasa and Armin exchanged a confused look before they quietly agreed to leave it for now.

It was only moments later when Levi called for his squad to pay attention. As they all scurried towards their Captain, Eren noticed Jean giving him a weird look. Suddenly he recalled how confused the young alpha with a horse face had to be after yesterday when he came to get Eren and sighed to himself. That's another confrontation waiting to crash.

Looking at Levi giving out instructions for the maneuver course they were about to go through, Eren got the impression he was almost amused. If he didn't know better, he would think his mate did it on purpose when he announced that Eren and Jean would be the last ones to start.

The omega did his best to discreetly send Levi a betrayed look. Levi stared back at him blankly, only the corner or his mouth twitching almost unnoticeably.

Eren tried to ignore Jean drilling holes into him as they waited for their turn, most of the squad, the Captain included, was long gone and only Reiner and Bert were still there with the two of them.

All too soon for Eren's liking the second to last signal to start came, leaving the two all alone and Jean jumped at the chance served to him on a silver platter. "Okay Jaeger, what the hell is going on? After that creepy shit you pulled yesterday no one sees you until breakfast the next day, after which you disappear again up until now. What. Is. Going. On."

Eren grit his teeth to keep himself from barking at Jean that it was none of his business. He had to remind himself he needed as many people knowing and on his side as he could get and after all that "let's hope you get to find out" shit he pulled, he thought Jean deserved at least a little bit of courtesy. "I can't talk about it now. It's still... confidential."

Eren didn't think he'd ever seen the young alpha's eyebrows shoot so far up so quickly. He almost wanted to laugh at the dumb expression.

The seriousness in Jean's voice was the only thing that kept him from actually snorting. "Are we in danger?"

Eren was taken aback by the no-bullshit attitude Jean suddenly seemed to have developed. "Well... That depends on how you define danger." Jean narrowed his eyes at him. "Not right now but," Eren paused, looking at the ground, hand twitching to cover his stomach. "But we could be. I'll tell you everything if you come to my room after dinner. I'll be talking with Mikasa and Armin then, might as well get it all over with at once," he sighed with a shrug.

The two boys stared at each other challengingly for a long while, before the last signal sounded. They still didn't move for a moment, but then Jean nodded and shot his gear out and disappeared. Eren followed a split second later, wondering at the strange experience he just got. He thought that was probably the quietest, calmest and most level conversation he had had with the Horseface since he met him. He could only shake his head and attribute it to momentary confusion on both their parts.

* * *

The more Levi watched his squad throughout the course, the more he realized what a terrible idea this was. Eren was _expecting._ What if he hurts himself? What if there's a malfunction and he falls from this height? What if-

"Worried?"

Levi almost fell of the tree he was perched on himself at the voice full of amusement that came from somewhere above him.

He glared up at Hanji, who was grinning madly back at him. "Are you _trying_ to kill me?"

Hanji shrugged. "Not my fault you were so lost in thought you didn't hear me coming. Or calling you, like, twenty times."

The alpha only glared harder. "What are you even doing here, Shitty Foureyes? Shouldn't you be writing reports or something?"

"I'm observing! Eren's performance in training is an important indicator to determine if there are any unwanted effects, like losing balance, worsened eyesight, bad judgment of distance, stuff like that."

She snickered at the slightly panicked look on Levi's face. "There shouldn't be anything wrong," she assured quickly. "Judging from the tests from this morning he's perfectly fine but knowing Erwin, he'll want to know every little detail I can get."

Levi didn't seem placated in the least, instead looking frantically for his mate. He should have realized that if anything went wrong, the bond would let him know right away, but in his worried state the bond didn't cross his mind at all. The beta studying him from above only smiled to herself. If only those people claiming how cold hearted and unfeeling Levi was could see him now.

"Levi, you do realize he's not invalid, right?" she questioned with badly concealed laugher when Levi's head snapped in the direction from which a sound of a 3DMG was coming louder and louder and his whole body relaxed visibly at the sight of Eren, perfectly fine, trying furiously to overtake Jean.

"Shut up."

Hanji wasn't sure if the red on his ears was only the product of her imagination or not, but she decided to think it wasn't; if only for the sake of her own amusement.

* * *

Dinner was a very tense affair. Eren did his best to ignore the looks boring into him from several different directions while simultaneously trying to suppress the rising nervousness; and if that wasn't enough, Levi seemed distracted for some reason while Hanji kept sending the alpha looks while snickering to herself. It just _screamed_ suspicious.

The part of the squad that wasn't directly, or indirectly, involved didn't dare move or speak any more than necessary lest they set _someone_ off and it didn't really matter to them _which_ one of those someones that would be. Eren, Mikasa, Levi, it was all the same. Something was going on; however, nobody but Hanji seemed to know _what_.

Eren was the first to get up rather aggressively, fed up with Mikasa glaring daggers at him constantly and Armin and Jean thinking they were sneaky with their occasional peeks. Of course, Hanji's random bursts of laughter didn't exactly help either.

Mikasa looked like she wanted to follow right after him but Armin's hand on her arm stopped her. She gave her friend a questioning and slightly accusing look, but the blond only shook his head and gestured towards her untouched plate. Only then did she realize she was so busy trying to figure out what was wrong with Eren that she didn't eat at all. She let out a defeated sigh, finally picking up her spoon and digging in, much to Armin's satisfaction.

* * *

Eren went straight to his room after and proceeded to pace nervously. Was he ready for this? Hell no. Did he have any choice? Not anymore. Was Mikasa going to kill him? Definitely.

The omega grasped and tugged at his hair desperately. He didn't want to be here. He wanted to be in Levi's office, bothering him while his alpha did paperwork, like he did only two nights ago. He wanted to pretend nothing changed, as if their life didn't turn completely on its head and then right back in the span of 24 hours. As if their life wasn't still wobbly, still looking for the center of gravity it lost.

Eren felt like he was on the verge of panic when there was a knock on the door. He abruptly stopped pacing and instead slumped into his chair (that Levi graciously provided when he first prepared the room for him) in defeat. "Come in!" he shouted up the stairs, wondering how his voice didn't shake at all.

He wasn't surprised to see Armin's blond head poke in only a moment later, sending him a warm smile. Armin was, of course, immediately followed by Mikasa, who looked about ready to burst with questions, but was holding back. No doubt Armin gave her some talking to before they came in.

Eren gestured to the bed for them to sit, trying very hard not to blush when his panic fueled mind supplied that it was probably that very place where this whole problem started.

Armin smiled encouragingly, "We're ready when you are."

Eren's mouth twitched up into a humorless smile as he mumbled in response, "Somehow, I doubt that."

Mikasa looked at him worriedly. Was it that bad?

But Eren just shook his head to clear it before he continued at normal volume, "Well, we have to wait for Horseface first. I refuse to talk about it more times than I have to."

Both his friends' jaws dropped. "Jean?" they questioned in unison as if they could have heard wrong.

"Yeah, there were some... circumstances and I thought he deserved to know. Besides I think it would be better for more people to know and," Eren took a deep breath before he finished, sounding and grimacing as if he was in great pain, "I trust him."

Eren's eyes widened in terror as he looked away from Mikasa and Armin only for his eyes to fall on the horse in question, grinning like he _won_ something. (Eren had to begrudgingly admit he didn't _not_ win something.)

Eren scowled at him. "Ever heard of _knocking_ , Horseface?"

Jean's smirk only widened. "I figured I was welcome to come in since you told me to come – and since you _trust me_."

The omega rolled his eyes. Perfect, now he wouldn't hear the end of it for at least a month. He had to remind himself that there were bigger problems right now than fighting with Jean.

He took a deep breath to keep himself from retorting. "Whatever. Anyway, can you all promise me that you won't tell anyone? As far as I know, the only people who know about this right now are Hanji, the Commander and the Captain and it _has to_ stay that way for now."

Mikasa frowned at this. Just what the hell was going on?

"Why are you all looking at me?" asked Jean defensively.

Mikasa just shrugged while Armin gave him an apologetic look. Eren, on the other hand, "Because you have a big mouth, unlike them."

"What is that suppo-"

"Okay, okay, time out," Armin interrupted before they got completely off track. "Leave it guys, this looks like it's serious and Mikasa looks like she's going to punch a hole in the wall if Eren doesn't explain soon."

Jean and Eren huffed simultaneously but luckily listened to Armin.

"Fine. I promise not to tell," Jean recited in a forced tone of sincerity. The others only rolled their eyes before all attention turned to Eren.

The omega decided to just dive in. No use in trying to dance around the subject. "Okay, so, I'm kind of pregnant."

The effect was immediate. There was silence so deep you could _hear_ it. No one moved and time practically stopped for a very long while.

Finally, a high pitched shout of "WHAT?" coming from none other than Jean broke the spell and suddenly all of them were moving. Armin squealed as he jumped up to hug Eren, while Jean started backing away slowly, as if he was some sort of a dangerous, unknown creature.

Mikasa was the last one to wake up from the shock, but as soon as she did, she ran to Eren's side, pushing Armin away and kneeling before her brother, clutching at his knees. "Eren, you weren't _raped,_ were you?" she asked seriously.

Armin gasped at the possibility, as the other two only stared at her, Eren's eyes slowly filling with horror. "Oh my god, _no!_ Seriously, how do you always jump to the worst possible conclusion? I'll let you know it was very much consensual!" Eren froze as he realized what he just said and his friends got to see as his face slowly turned the darkest shade of red.

Luckily no one commented. Mikasa only slumped, her head hanging low as she quietly whispered, "Thank god." Eren could only run his hand through her hair soothingly.

He jerked away from her on instinct when Jean asked the golden question, "So, who's the father then? Or mother?"

The color that was just starting to fade from the omega's face was back full force immediately as all heads turned back at him, Mikasa narrowing her eyes dangerously.

Eren turned away, mumbling, "I don't have to tell you that."

"Eren," Mikasa said warningly.

"And what are you going to do with that information? Go pick a fight?"

"Just warn them not to hurt you and to better take care of you two or so help me, I'm going to skin them alive."

"So go pick a fight! Keep dreaming, I'm _not_ telling you!"

"Armin."

"What?" the blond was taken off guard by Mikasa addressing him.

"Who's the alpha? I know you know."

Armin turned a little pink, whether at the roundabout praise or at the topic, no one knew. "Well, I can't say I _know_ but there aren't that many alphas Eren's has any real contact with. It's not you and obviously not Jean either," he was interrupted by disgusted protests by both of the boys at the mere idea, "and I somehow doubt it was Commander Erwin. Also going by the fact that Eren said only 3 people knew before us, it only leaves..."

Armin trailed off, letting the others to figure out themselves what he was suggesting – though judging by Eren's horrified expression, he was spot on. The beta knew the exact moment the dots connected in Jeans head at the impressed whistle he let out, followed by small, awkward yet equally as impressed laughter.

It took Mikasa a few more moments to give any reaction but then she shot up, heading straight for the door. "I'm gonna kill that fucking midget," she seethed as she strode purposefully forward.

Eren stumbled after her, trying to stop her desperately. "No, Mikasa, wait, what are you trying to do?!" Eren shouted at her.

Mikasa didn't even bother looking back at Eren as she answered with a voice full of venom, "He doesn't deserve you, Eren. I can't let him go unpunished for taking advantage of you."

A scandalized look crossed Eren's face. "He didn't take advantage of me! Why are you so dead-set on hating him?!" he asked loudly as he made to grab Mikasa's arm, even though it didn't slow her down much, as they left the basement and he was forced to continue in a whisper-shout. "What did he ever do to you?"

"He beat you up terribly, Eren. He lost his right to even look at you when he hit you for the first time."

Eren growled, growing more and more angry, his eyes lighting up a little bit with the protective feelings towards his mate. "He had no other choice and you _know it_ , Mikasa! Don't you dare hold it against him; he beats himself up over it enough!"

"Good, he should beat himself up over it."

"NO!" for a second Eren forgot they weren't in private at shouted full volume, but the deafening echo reminded him to keep it down, as difficult as that was. He tugged Mikasa a step back, forcing her to a stop. "No, he fucking _shouldn't_ ," he snarled at her, his eyes shining full-force now, taking Mikasa by surprise. "My own _mate_ shouldn't have to blame himself for something he had no control over. I won't _let him_ blame himself for it."

They stared at each other for a long time, alpha protecting her family to omega protecting his mate, as the implications of Eren's words set in. Mikasa's eyes started flashing as well, a need to protect her brother only fueling her further despite her better judgment. "Mate. Your _mate._ And you didn't even bother to _tell me."_ It sounded accusing, and if Eren was in a better state of mind, he might have detected a bit of hurt in there as well.

 _"_ I didn't tell you because I knew you would react like this! You always react like this, like I can't make my own decisions about my own life! _"_ Eren hissed back.

Mikasa turned back around, freeing her arm forcibly and setting off again. "Fine, I get it. He's your _mate,_ " she spat the word as if it was poisonous. "I won't kill him then."

"Then where the hell are you going now?! Mikasa!"

* * *

After Mikasa left with Eren in tow, Armin and Jean stayed behind, looking at each other helplessly. This wasn't going to be pretty but they probably had no choice but to let it happen.

"Might as well enjoy the show, huh?" Jean gave Armin a crooked, ironic smile.

The beta sighed deeply, gesturing for Jean to go first. "Follow the screeching."

* * *

Eren was very, very angry. Levi could tell from the bond. Also pretty close, if the shouting getting closer by the second was anything to go by.

That was quick; he wasn't expecting them for another ten minutes or so. Well, nothing he could do about it but put away the paper work so it doesn't fall victim to anyone's wrath. He would have to write it all again. No fucking thank you.

He only had a second to prepare himself when he could finally understand what the voices were saying (It seemed they weren't even fighting over him anymore. Something about Mikasa always carrying Eren's share of wood? ...What?) before the door to his office rudely slammed open. Not that he expected anything less.

The both of them were obviously seething with eyes lit up and faces flushed from shouting at each other. He curiously looked at the blond and ash-brown heads peeking cautiously from around the doorframe, obviously not knowing what to do. If it weren't for this situation, Levi would laugh.

As it was, he could only look from one face to the other, heaving a sigh before finally looking straight at Eren. "Could you leave us, please?"

Eren gaped at him, feeling betrayed. "You can't be serious."

"Eren, you know we have to talk or it will only get worse. We talked about this."

"But-"

"Eren," came an unexpected interruption from behind as Armin finally stepped up. "I really think it would be better if you left them to sort this out between themselves."

Eren didn't seem to be willing to move so after a few awkward minutes Jean rolled his eyes and strode into the Captain's office, grabbed Eren by the elbow and dragged him out, saluting half-heartedly as Levi nodded his thanks at him, before slamming the door shut behind himself.

"They're big kids, Jaeger. I think they can do this without shedding blood. Come on." And he proceeded to drag a limp Eren away, Armin jogging after them.

They ended up back in Eren's room, mostly pushing Eren for details about their Captain and teasing him along the way. This of course didn't go without few small fights between Eren and Jean, but most of the time the omega was so distracted he didn't even care what the other was saying.

That was how Mikasa found them half an hour later – Armin dying of laughter on the floor while Eren was attempting to strangle Jean. However, as soon as they heard the door open, they all sat up straight, waiting, holding their breaths.

When the girl finally came down the stairs so the light from the several lamps could shine on her face, they all let out a collective sigh of relief. Though hiding behind her scarf, Mikasa couldn't mask the gentle expression now adorning her face. "Well... He's not that bad in the end," she mumbled, maybe a little embarrassed. She then turned to her brother, determination shining through while she took those last few steps separating them. As soon as she got close enough, she latched onto him, hugging him tight. "Congratulations. I'm sorry I don't think I even said it before."

Eren was a little surprised at first but soon he wrapped his arms around her waist in return, squeezing her tightly. "Thank you," he whispered back.

Their quiet reconciliation was interrupted by Jean asking curiously, "So what happened up there?"

Mikasa looked at him and then Armin before answering vaguely, all the time not letting Eren go, "Nothing much. We talked and realized we had a common goal. So we called a truce."

Eren snorted as Armin smiled knowingly. "Well, I think it's time you two had a good long talk," Armin announced, grabbing Jean by the collar and dragging him with him. "Once again, congratulations, Eren. Just so you know though, I really don't appreciate you keeping secrets from us. I expect you to make it up to me and Mikasa later."

Eren scratched the back of his head awkwardly. "Yeah sorry, I will. But why are you leaving already? I mean, not the horse, but you can stay longer Armin."

"Hey!" came a weak protest from Jean. He really didn't like that nickname Eren gave him.

Armin shook his head. "Unlike you guys, I'm weak so I actually _need_ my sleep, you know. Thanks for the offer though. Night!" he smiled brightly as he waved at the still loosely hugging siblings.

* * *

Armin parted ways with Jean soon as well, as the alpha opted for joining the rest of their friends who were still making ruckus in the mess hall instead of joining Armin and retiring early.

Honestly, Armin silently welcomed Jeans decision because in the light of recent events the blond came to a decision of his own. It didn't matter how unsure of his theories and deductions he was. Now there was an innocent, unborn child at risk and he couldn't take any more chances.

As they say, better safe than sorry, right?

He _needed_ to talk with the Commander right now.

* * *

 **A/N:** I hope Mikasa didn't come across as annoying or anything because that definitely was not my intention. She's just overly protective of Eren and had some unresolved issues with Levi. If she seems too OOC, please let me know and I'll try to fix it...^^;;

By the way, would anyone be interrested in a silly little Halloween special? (^・ω・^ )


	7. A Little Bundle of Meetings

On Monday Erwin surprised both Levi and Eren when he came up to them during breakfast and informed them their meeting would not be held in his office but rather in the meeting room. The mates exchanged glances as they watched the Commander go around and inform more and more people about the event. Eren was glad his friends already knew as it seemed it would very soon be Levi's turn to come clean.

Levi grumbled as he watched Nanaba give Erwin a concerned look and Eren snickered. The alpha turned his glare at the boy, who only shrugged and whispered so only Levi could hear, "Who was it who said it would only get worse with time and to tell them as soon as possible?"

Levi's eyes slid from Eren to pointedly stare at Mike and Nanaba, than directly at Mikasa. He stared so hard Mikasa turned her head questioningly. Levi than looked back at Eren with raised eyebrows, an unspoken question in his eyes. _Are you really comparing my friends to yours?_

The omega just rolled his eyes before returning to his meal. He heard Mikasa's voice asking, "What is it, sir? Why were you staring at me?"

He looked up in time to see Levi shake his head and answer with a slight smirk, "No, it's nothing. Sorry."

Mikasa gave the other alpha a suspicious look but didn't say anything.

Even after a few days it was still weird to see his mate and sister interacting normally. Eren couldn't believe how fast things normalized between them, as if they were always sort of friendly yet respectful and not at each other's throats all the time.

Eren tried to ask what happened after Mikasa stormed Levi's office and he himself was forced to leave them alone, but all Levi gave him as a reply was sarcasm. "Nothing, I just confessed my undying love for you." Ha! As if Eren would believe that; especially in that tone.

What Eren didn't know was that that was pretty much exactly what happened; only summed up into one sentence instead of a half an hour long discussion about how clumsy and cute the omega was to the two alphas. (They quickly realized they both wanted different things from the boy and thus concluded it was more productive to protect him together than fight over him constantly. The two had a great time sharing stories about Eren while the boy in question was worried sick about them.)

And so their rivalry became a thing of the past in a matter of minutes, confusing everyone the next day at the morning exercise when they greeted each other almost cheerfully instead of just ignoring the other's existence.

Eren was just finishing his food when Hanji burst in, oddly cheerful, with what looked like blood in her hair. But judging by the look of her, it either wasn't blood at all, or it wasn't _her_ blood. A foreboding shiver ran up Eren's spine when she turned towards their table, giving a bright grin.

Eren already dreaded the moment he found out what that was about.

* * *

After breakfast, the training went by quickly; except the one moment when Eren tripped while doing some speed building exercises and fell face first into the mud. Levi almost had a heart attack but judging by the reactions Mikasa and Armin gave, he wasn't the only one. Even Jean flinched as if to run over and then he kept giving Eren concerned glances even as he teased him about being an idiot. The guy might mix with Eren like water and oil, but he was still an alpha, Levi supposed.

Then training was over and it was time for lunch, and then that was also over. Suddenly it was time to head to the meeting and Eren was nervous. He didn't know what to expect. Luckily, Levi and he planned to go there together as they shared some tea after lunch, and the alpha's calm presence assured him somewhat.

When they arrived to the meeting room, the door was slightly ajar and some rustling was coming from there. Levi pushed the door fully open only to freeze in place immediately. Eren almost ran into him.

Hanji was the only one who was currently inside and she had already been there for quite a while apparently. The big table was shoved more to the side, the chairs rearranged so that there were seven chairs on one side and two on the other. As to where the rest of the chairs were, they had no clue.

But the new arrangement was not what really caught them off guard. It was those two lonely chairs. They were loosely wrapped and tied together with what appeared to be a red, fancy ribbon and on the wall behind them there was a big banner with a bright pink, elegant cursive of " _Seats of Shame"_ with a smaller, sloppy writing, apparently added as an afterthought, "And c _ongrats, by the way."_ The empty space on the banner around the writings was entirely covered with hearts the same shade of red as the ribbon.

When they entered the room, Hanji was balancing on the chairs, trying to adjust the banner so it was hanging just right. Levi cleared his throat, annoyance clear on his face and Hanji's head snapped towards the door. She smiled widely and Eren realized _this_ was why she was acting so suspiciously during breakfast. Probably why she came late with _red_ in her hair, too.

"Ah, perfect timing! Can you tell me if I have this thing hanging straight?"

Instead of a response, Levi only said, "What the fuck is this shit, Shitty Foureyes?"

The beta pouted briefly, before the grin was back. "I prepared special seats for you! Do you like it?"

"Where did you even get all this stuff?" Eren squeaked.

"Oh, I made it! I found some torn up old sheets and thought of this brilliant idea. It took all night to mix the perfect colors and soak the sheets and write on them. I haven't slept at all but I think it was totally worth it, don't you agree?"

"No," Levi deadpanned, scowling and crossing his arms.

Eren only looked on, taking in all the little details. He had to admit he was kind of impressed at the work Hanji gave into it but he was way more horrified. He would have to sit there, oh god.

Now Hanji really pouted. "Meanie. Will you at least tell me whether I have it right?"

Before Levi could tell her to go eat shit and her shitty decorations while she was at it, the door opened again and in came Mikasa. She took a second to take in the absurd situation but then her hand shot up to her scarf, pulling it up over her mouth. Both mates narrowed their eyes at the obvious mirth in her eyes.

Hanji on the other hand cheered, "Mikasa, what do you think? How does it look, isn't the banner crooked?"

Mikasa shook her head. "No, it's okay. It looks perfect." And she actually gave the beta a thumbs-up with both hands. Eren felt betrayed on the most basic level.

Hanji heaved a sigh as she jumped off the chairs. "Thank you," she grinned at the female alpha before turning a disappointed eye at the boys. "See? This is how you appreciate someone's hard work."

Levi rolled his eyes and muttered several choice insults towards the women who apparently ganged up on them. Eren couldn't get a word out if he tried anymore.

The next to arrive was Armin, looking a little flushed, trying to catch his breath. "I'm not late, am I?" he still hadn't looked up.

"No, you're not even close to being last," answered Mikasa, still some suppressed laughter in her voice.

At that Armin looked up, ready to question her amusement but then his eyes caught the red. And pink. And suddenly he had trouble not bursting into laughter himself. "Wow, this looks great," he giggled despite himself.

Hanji beamed at the praise.

Closely behind Armin came Mike, who scanned the banner, snorted, and put on a look like suddenly everything made sense.

Eren frowned in confusion at the reaction but Levi only shook his head. He would bet that over the time the weirdo could smell changes around Eren and him but probably couldn't tell what was going on until Shitty Foureyes supplied a hint.

Nanaba and Jean actually came in together for some reason. The boy immediately burst into laughter before cowering at the glare Levi sent him. On the other hand, an expression of utter confusion spread over the woman's face, and not only over the peculiar choice of decoration, but the odd mix of people in the meeting as well. Eren was one thing but the other cadets? She was already surprised enough when she ran into the young alpha boy in the hallway but there were two others as well.

No one cared to explain to her yet.

It took Erwin another five minutes to arrive with a huge stack of papers but when he did he only smirked at the sight. "Thank you, Hanji, for the appropriate decoration," he said apparently not as opposed to the display as Levi or Eren hoped. "But I do hope you'll take this down before someone unwanted sees and connects the dots."

Hanji saluted with enthusiasm. "Thank you, and of course, Commander Erwin, sir," she said with a happy grin.

Erwin nodded in acknowledgment before running a quick look over the room. "Well everyone, take your seats."

Eren immediately ran towards one of the seven chairs but Erwin's hand on his shoulder stopped him. His face fell when he looked up to see the Commander's eyes twinkling with mirth. "Oh no no, Eren. You have to sit in your designated place."

The omega looked desperately back at his mate, who was ignoring him in favor of glaring at their chairs with obvious disgust.

Everyone was seated before Eren even moved, too mortified to do anything. He only sat down stiffly after Mikasa prompted them not to hold the meeting up any longer and Levi sighed in defeat, flopping into one of the chairs, plastering an expression of nonchalance on his face. As if that would fool anyone.

The omega was scared to look up as he was sure what he would see. All the evil smirks. He knew all of them were enjoying this. He wanted to be mad. He really wanted to shout at them all – granted, mostly at Hanji – but he couldn't bring himself to feel anything other than embarrassment. Embarrassment that only got worse when he felt Levi's arm land on the back of his chair as the man made himself comfortable. Eren just wanted to crawl somewhere and die.

After a minute of silence Erwin cleared his throat. "It has come to my attention that some of us present don't know what the focal point of this meeting is, so before we start, I would like to ask one of the causes to kindly explain."

Eren could feel the heat in his face only getting stronger, just as his ability to make a sound left him completely. He looked to his mate sitting by his side helplessly.

Finally Levi rolled his eyes before supplying an explanation. "We fucked. We made a baby. No abortions. End of story."

There was a beat of silence before Hanji burst out laughing hitting the table in her glee. Mikasa joined her soon after with quiet chuckles muffled by her scarf.

Armin only blushed at the word choice; Jean looked like he was too scared to laugh but was having trouble holding himself back. Mike was smirking openly while Nanaba looked like she couldn't really comprehend what Levi was trying to say and Erwin could only rub the bridge of his nose. He was about done with Levi's shit (and didn't want to admit to himself he wanted to laugh as well.)

"Okay, so what Levi is trying to say is," the Commander glared at his Captain halfheartedly and Levi only rolled his eyes at him, "that against any common sense they might have had, he and Eren mated. On top of that they were careless which resulted in Eren now being almost a month pregnant. With how bad abortion might affect Eren, we can't afford to risk it. I hope _all of you_ realize how serious this situation is."

Halfway through Erwin's speech Eren started feeling less embarrassment, and instead shame took its place. He felt so bad, making more work and stress for everyone. Levi would let Erwin's rant in one ear and out the other as he didn't give a shit about his friend's tantrums, but sensing Eren's distress, he couldn't just let it be. "You don't have to still be so sore about it just because you're jealous some of us decided to have a life and mate someone other than our work."

Eren's eyes widened and he almost smacked Levi over his leg to reprimand him but he didn't think the others would appreciate such display.

Hanji gasped dramatically, "Low blow Levi. You should leave Erwin's non-existent love life out of this." She was grinning behind her scolding voice and the mocking didn't go unnoticed by the Commander – or Mike who snorted and looked away from Erwin.

The Commander frowned at all three of them, "This is not about me; this is about common sense. By the way all of you should be prioritizing your work over your libidos, not only me."

Levi only shrugged and looked away, his mission accomplished. Sure, now his mate wasn't too happy with him, but at least he wasn't feeling stupidly guilty anymore.

"Okay, okay," spoke Nanaba for the first time. "Why do I get the feeling I was the only one who didn't know about this?" She felt left out. She didn't like it.

Mike sniffed before supplying a reply, "Because Levi is too shy to share with us. I only realized when I came here, too."

The two off them gave a simultaneous disapproving look to Levi who only flipped them off.

"Maybe we should actually start the meeting so we at least get the basics down," Hanji proposed, still grinning.

"Yes, we should," agreed Erwin shifting his attention to the stack of papers in front of him. "So first of all, the people who are here are the only ones who know about this so far. It has to stay that way for now."

He looked everyone in the eyes and watched them all nod.

The commander continued. "Soon I plan to let Levi's squad know but not yet. There are some things I need to look up first. For now I want you to keep it to yourselves and be extra careful with Eren's protection.

"Next, according to Hanji's report, Eren is in perfect health so for now he is free to continue training normally, as long as he is careful and Levi holds his protectiveness in check."

Eren visibly relaxed at the go-ahead, glad he wouldn't be forced to miss months of training as he would have a hard time catching up with everyone later on. Levi, on the other hand, scoffed at the last remark, not knowing whether to glare at Erwin or Hanji for that one.

Erwin sighed, putting the papers down for now. "The problem is with the experiments. We have no idea what effect shifting might have on Eren right now; or if he would even be able to shift at all. But we won't know that unless we try. First we have to make a decision whether to risk it or not." He gave Eren and Levi a questioning look as this wasn't a decision he could force them into. If one of them said no, than there was nothing he could do.

Eren immediately nodded, "Of course I want to continue the experiments. I'll do my best to-"

"I refuse." Neither Erwin nor Eren could say they were surprised by the interruption.

Hanji smiled as she spoke up. "Levi, if I may." Levi gave her a look that clearly said no, she may not, but she continued anyway. "I think there is not much risk for either the baby or Eren himself. My theory is that if the shifting posed any threat, Eren's omega side would recognize it and prevent the shift from happening. Of course I don't have any proof but omegan protective instincts are very strong; you said so yourself, miscarriages are extremely rare and those instincts have a big part in that."

Levi scowled; he still wanted to protest, but Eren's hand on his knee stopped him. He looked at his mate questioningly and was met with pleading eyes. "Please, at least let me try."

Levi couldn't say no to those eyes.

He couldn't say he was happy with it though.

He gritted his teeth and after a long battle with himself finally agreed. "I _will be there_ , though. Every _single_ time and if I feel _anything_ is wrong, I have the right to stop it immediately, no matter what any one of you says," he growled angrily.

Eren smiled at him squeezing his knee one last time, silently thanking him.

Erwin nodded and Hanji looked positively joyful.

"Thank you, both of you," Erwin said, moving on. "Now that this is decided, there is another issue with this. We can't just straight up continue where we left off. We will have to slow down, test the waters.

"However, we have to send regular reports to the capital. If we send the real progress reports they are going to question why we are repeating tests we did months ago already. So we either come up with a damn good reason as to why we do the experiments we do, or we come up with false reports. And if it turns out Eren can't shift at all?"

"I think this is for Hanji to decide," piped up Nanaba.

Erwin nodded. "Indeed, it will be up to her to her to come up with either of those things while keeping records of the actual experiments as well, so she should be the one to say what to do." He thought he heard Hanji mutter something along the lines of 'Wow, thanks Levi,' but he wasn't sure. "But if any of you have any ideas, they will be welcome."

Armin hesitantly raised his hand.

Erwin smiled encouragingly, "Yes, Armin?"

"Um, I don't really have any concrete idea, but if Hanji needs any help with the experiments or record keeping, since she can't ask for help from Moblit, I thought I could help instead?"

"You would?!" Hanji shouted excitedly, leaning on the table to be able to look at the boy properly. The blond could only lean away to be as far from her as possible even as he sat far away enough as it was. "Can you draw? How fast can you write? Do you think you could-"

"Great," Erwin interrupted. "You can go over the details yourselves later. Any other suggestions?"

As he was met only with silence, the blond alpha sighed. "Okay. Tel what you decided by this evening. Now, I want to talk with you about what to do in case anyone asks too many questions."

Levi groaned. This was going to be a long meeting if Erwin was going to give them a lecture about every stupid unlikely scenario imaginable. As if they were all idiots who would spill shit the first opportunity they had.

It was another two hours before Erwin told them they were free to leave and another thirty minutes before they actually left as Levi felt the need to make sure Hanji didn't leave any mess behind.

* * *

 **A/N:** I wrote and edited this chapter sleep deprived in between lectures. I hope that's not too obvious. I'm honestly surprised I managed to finish it on time ^^;;

On another note, I made my tumblr a functional one (I made one post and it has all of 3 notes as of now, yay! :D ) and if I manage to stop regretting the decision and being anxious about it and actually use it, I will occasionally talk about what is going on in my life. Ergo, you would know if I couldn't write a chapter on time. So if you want to, you can check it out... (I have no idea how to link stuff, so here's the actual address: )


	8. A Little Bundle of Experiments

**A/N:** This chapter is dedicated to my two (2) followers on tumblr (chenzie . tumblr . com) and Aquamarine Jay for singlehandedly saving my exceptionally shitty Monday. Hope you like it :D

* * *

"You did really great, Eren! How do you feel?"

Eren smiled in exhaustion at the scientist through the steam rising up from the disintegrating titan arm between them. "Thanks Hanji. I'm a little tired but nothing more than I'd be normally."

"Great! We can stop here for today then," she grinned widely back, turning her attention to the quickly disappearing titan relic, trying to look if anything was different about it.

Meanwhile Armin ran up to the young shifter and took down his pulse. Eren looked over his best friend's head to smile confidently at the man scowling in the background. They made brief eye contact before Levi frowned deeper, striding over. As soon as he was close enough, the alpha's hand shot up to connect with the other's forehead despite his protests.

"You're hot."

Eren bit his cheek in a vain attempt to stop himself. "...Thanks."

Levi could hear Armin snicker quietly and narrowed his eyes at the both of them. "I'm serious, brat."

Eren sighed deeply, rolling his eyes. "Levi, I'm fine. I'm always overheated after a transformation. It will go away soon since it was only an arm."

"I sure hope so," Levi mumbled back.

"Don't worry, Captain," Armin spoke up with soft smile. "This level of fever isn't something even a pregnant beta couldn't manage without any trouble."

"See?" Eren said, a slightly accusing tint to his tone, gesturing to the blond beta.

The mates stared at each other for a moment before the alpha shook his head and walked off in Hanji's general direction.

Eren sagged in relief as soon as his Captain was far enough. "God, between him and Mikasa, I can't catch a break," he whined. "I'm honestly not sure which one of them is worse."

Armin put on a concentrated face as if this was some difficult problem that was in a dire need of solving. "I'd say Mikasa is worse. She doesn't have a reason to hold back even in front of other people."

"But I don't sleep in the same bed as Mikasa every night."

"You what?!" Armin spluttered in shock and Eren only gave him an incredulous look.

"You honestly didn't think we slept together? Seriously? After all this?" The boy vaguely gestured towards himself.

Armin covered his face in embarrassment. "Please, don't make me think about this. I did my best to keep the images away..."

Eren smirked, tempted to add in a few more details but when he imagined saying something out loud, the embarrassment overtook him as well and he could feel the heat coming up to his ears. He never spoke about the... _intimate_ parts of his relationship with anyone and it honestly didn't seem to him like that would ever change if he had any say in it. "Well... it's not like we _sleep together_ every night!"

"Eren, shut up, you're only making it _worse_!" Armin nearly shouted, absolutely mortified.

The high pitched squeak caught the attention of the two officers talking nearby at the table set up for their convenience. Their heads simultaneously turned in that direction and they were graced with the sight of the two friends, both flaming red, resolutely looking away from each other.

They both blinked a few times, wondering what that was about before shrugging it off and returning to their conversation from before.

"So..." Hanji repeated what she was saying before, "from what I can see, Eren's regeneration time is a bit slower than it used to be. We'll probably have to test it out a little more." She sighed, knowing Levi won't be happy about that. She was not happy about it herself, since contrary to popular belief, she didn't enjoy hurting her subjects – be they human or not. And especially when she was as close to them as she was to Eren.

Levi scowled but looked more resigned than anything. "You won't be cutting anything off, right?"

Hanji shook her head widely. "No, no. It will be the same as today, only in several different places to see if the regeneration rate depends on the location. At most the cuts might be a little bigger or deeper but nothing that couldn't normally be treated with a few band aids."

Levi let go off a shaky sigh, "Okay, if he doesn't mind."

Hanji smiled gently. She couldn't help it in the face of their relationship. She didn't comment on it though. She valued her life – and these were her third glasses only this month. She quickly realized that Levi didn't appreciate it when someone pointed out his cute side.

"Great. We'll start with that next time."

"And what about the transformation?"

Hanji brought one of her hands up to her chin, thinking deeply. "Well..." she started carefully after a while. "Judging from the fact that even though it took him a few tries, he did do it in the end, and the arm looked the same as always from what I could see, I'd say the problem wasn't technical. I think that he can transform just fine - or at least his libs can and I honestly don't want to risk a whole transformation just yet. My guess is that maybe he was subconsciously scared to transform and that caused that he couldn't."

Levi looked back at his mate, who was now animatedly talking with Armin about something while absentmindedly rubbing at his stomach, and then back at Hanji in confusion. "Why would he be scared? He's never been scared to transform."

The beta didn't know whether she was supposed to laugh or gape at her friend in disbelief. "Captain Levi, sir," she started slowly and carefully, as if talking to a child. Levi wasn't amused but she didn't give him time to retort. "Had _you_ ever been scared when Eren transformed?"

The alpha gave her a look like it was obvious. "Of course not, he can handle it."

"Your trust in him is beautiful but were you scared today?"

Levi opened his mouth to answer in negative but then frowned deeply and shut it again. Because he _was_ scared. "But he didn't say anything."

"Of course he didn't," Hanji smiled. "For one, I doubt he actually realized it himself. And two, even if he did, you were freaking out enough for the both of you." Hanji ducked quickly, prepared for the incoming smack this time. "But seriously, maybe you two should talk about this properly."

"What?" the alpha questioned, a little skeptical.

"Levi, did you two actually sit down after this whole... situation and talk about it? I mean, not about the practical stuff, but your feelings."

The man made a face and Hanji could only roll her eyes at him.

"I know these talks are awkward and all, especially between the two of you, but they are important. And they actually help things. It's healthy to let it out once in a while. Even though he knows you're worried and you know he hates being doted on, _talk_ about it. Talk about how you're feeling and how he's feeling and you'll be surprised at how much better you'll feel. Moreover, you'll probably realize a lot of things about the other and _yourselves_ , too."

"What are you, a damn relationship adviser?"

Hanji grinned in satisfaction at successfully getting through to him, even though she knew he won't put her advice to use anytime especially soon. "Nope, just a good friend. By the way," she looked over Levi's shoulder over at Eren and Armin, who was currently showing the other the notes he took during today's experiments, "Erwin is looking into the backgrounds of your squad. I think he suspects there are more enemies here."

"So that's why it's taking him so long to give the go ahead."

"Yep. But don't tell Eren, I'm pretty sure he wouldn't take it well. I bet Erwin will try to keep it from him until the last moment. You know how he was with the female titan."

Levi turned his head, staring at his mate. A few seconds later, as if sensing his gaze Eren raised his head and their eyes locked, green with grey. After a moment Eren smiled gently and Levi almost smiled back. Instead he looked at Hanji and flatly stated, "He can handle it. He won't like it, but after the Female titan he's much more aware of the possibility."

"Levi..."

Hanji started warningly but Levi interrupted her, "I won't tell him. At least not until I hear something concrete from Erwin but sooner or later I'll have to tell him, if only to be careful around the others."

The beta sighed in relief. "Good."

They were silent for a moment, each lost in their own thoughts.

"Okay," finally Hanji called out loud, so the two others could hear her as well. "Guys, come here, we gotta have a little debriefing!"

Armin and Eren jumped before scrambling to run over to their superiors, sitting down opposite of them.

As soon as she had everyone's attention, Hanji started. "So... We didn't really do much today but I think we managed to get a solid base to build on. Armin, can I see your notes?"

"Oh, sure!" Armin jumped at being suddenly addressed so directly by the woman but immediately handed over the notes to her.

Hanji quickly scanned them with her eyes nodding in approval. "Pulse quick but within norm, short term and long term memory seems intact. Reactions good. Logical thinking good."

Eren gaped as she listed all the positive results Armin apparently got. "When did you test all that?" he whispered to his friend.

"While we were talking. There are ways to check without you even noticing," the blond whispered back.

"No whispering during class, children," Hanji reprimanded teasingly and snickered when they jumped away from each other. Levi only rolled his eyes at how all three of them were behaving. "Anyway, everything seems fine but of course I call for an examination just to make sure; if we can squeeze that in today, that would be great.

"I'd like to have the next session as soon as possible but I don't want to put any more stress on Eren than I have to, so I say we should postpone it a few days."

"Um, Hanji," Eren said with hesitation, even raising his hand. When all eyes turned on him he continued. "I really am fine; we can continue tomorrow." He looked up at her with silent determination and hope.

However Hanji shook her head resolutely. "No. For one, there is more physical stress on your body as indicated by the slowed downed rate of your regeneration." She put two papers in front of him, one obviously from today and one a little older, and pointed out a number on each of them. Eren assumed they were times. And indeed, the one from today was a bit higher than the other one. "And two, you probably don't realize but there's also incredible pressure on your mind as well. You have to rest as much as you can since you can't overdo it in your condition," she finished sternly.

Eren was ready to protest but he felt a soft kick to his leg under the table. His head shot in his mate's direction to give him an accusing look but his will to fight died immediately when he noticed the alpha's expression. ' _Complain any more; I fucking dare you,_ ' it seemed to scream.

Eren didn't want to push his luck. Moreover, remembering the promise that Levi always had the last word during the experiments so there was really no use arguing against him. The omega deflated and opted to only sulk silently in his seat.

Hanji ignored the exchange, shifting her attention to future possibilities. "So next time, I would like to check out the changes in regeneration properly if you're okay with it, Eren."

Eren nodded before giving Levi a questioning look.

Levi rolled his eyes in return. "I won't shut down every little thing, brat; don't go fucking paranoid on me."

The omega sighed in relief before jumping in surprise when Hanji slammed her hands on the table, turning to Levi. "See?! This is the result of what I was talking about! _Communication_!"

Levi sent a kick her way this time but yet again, Hanji jumped away before his boot could make friends with her shin.

"What were you talking about?" questioned Eren suspiciously, looking between the two of them.

"Nothing."

"Levi will tell you as soon as you retire for the evening."

Levi glared at Hanji viciously and Hanji grinned in victory. Eren won't drop it now until Levi spills. After that, with the thought nagging at them, it was only a matter of time when one of them cracks and starts _sharing_. It will do them good to have a good talk between them, what with all the stress lately. Hanji felt accomplished.

Armin watched the random exchange with wide eyes and couldn't help but feel like he didn't belong to this little family gathering. He felt left out. But then again, did he really feel the need to be all buddy buddy with the Captain? Sure, he was mated to his best friend now, but Armin could admit he was still kind of intimidated by the man. So maybe he was okay being left out for the time being...

"Anyway," Hanji cleared her throat. "We'll see how you look after that and how much time we'll have, but I'd like to try out your motoric ability with your titan arm, preferably both of them next time, too. But it really depends on the situation so we might have to push it back."

"Are we working with a time horizon so that we will get to the point of attempting a full transformation?" Armin asked curiously. He felt a little guilty for thinking this way but he couldn't help but wonder about the effects Eren's pregnancy might have on the complete titan.

Hanji looked at him, contemplating. Finally she sighed, taking off her glasses to polish them. "Honestly, I don't know. I'd like to try, but the risk is too high and really, just watching the changes in the basic functions is fascinating enough in itself. I have to say we'll see how everything goes."

The other three nodded in agreement. There was a moment of silence before Eren asked curiously, "If I can ask, what did you decide to do about the reports?"

Hanji and Armin exchanged a glace before shrugging simultaneously. "We're going use our imaginations."

"So you're going to bullshit it for months."

Hanji grinned, shrugging again. "You could say that. Luckily I have Armin and I have to say, his imagination and insight are quite excellent."

Armin blushed, mumbling a quiet thank you and Eren beamed at his friend proudly.

"Just be careful to keep it believable," Levi warned seriously.

Hanji petted his hair – or tried to before her hand was slapped away. "Aww, don't worry, you big bad alpha, we'll make sure to keep your cute little omega off the radar."

This time Hanji had to dodge not only the irritable alpha's attack, but an embarrassed omega's as well.

Armin watched calmly from his seat at the table as Hanji ran screeching from the two mates who went chasing after her and thought that he could suddenly understand all too well why Moblit always looked so worn out.

* * *

That evening, after Eren was cleared by Hanji as to not having sustained any damage from the experiments, ate dinner and catched-up with his friends, he retired to his room in the basement. He sat there leaning against the wall, pondering what Hanji had said earlier that day.

Was he really that mentally exhausted? He didn't feel like he was. Sure, there was a lot of stuff going on and the fear of wrong people finding out about the baby certainly wasn't helping things, but he didn't feel as if it was particularly hard to deal with or anything.

His pondering got interrupted by a yawn and Eren thought that maybe, just maybe he _was_ a little more tired than usual lately but he was sure it was just from the difficult training Levi demanded from his squad. He should go to sleep early for the next few days to get his energy back.

But no today. Today he had to wait for Levi. He had to talk to him.

He waited almost an hour more until the alpha finally finished his work, showered and came down to the room. By this time Levi was more than ready to collapse into bed and die for a handful of hours at least while cuddling with his mate and, by extension, his child.

He was not ready to be bombarded with questions as soon as the door closed after him.

"So what was that with Hanji today? What about communication? What did you two talk about?"

Levi was _so_ not ready for this.

* * *

Meanwhile, in another part of the castle, there was a completely different kind of conversation taking place.

"So, you were right, Armin."

Armin let out the breath he was holding ever since he entered the Commander's office. "There really weren't any records then, sir?"

Erwin shook his head, staring down at the papers spread out in front of him. "No. Absolutely none up until 5 years ago. Of course, some of them could have been lost with the fall of Maria but it's highly unlikely that _all_ of them would be. There are three explanations I can think off but one of them doesn't seem very likely as in that case the records would come up in Sina, and I just can't figure out any kind of reason for someone to deliberately, completely destroy them but then leave them be."

Erwin straightened up, reclining in his chair. "So... I'm inclined to believe your suspicions. Well done."

Armin's face lit up at the praise. "Thank you very much, sir."

Erwin smiled at the enthusiasm of the young beta. He seemed so genuinely happy to had been off help that the Commander felt like he could trust him with his own findings. The boy was very bright and willing to sacrifice anything for the wellbeing of his closest friends and Erwin honestly couldn't think of a single reason not to tell him. "However," he could see Armin's face fall a little at the prospect of bad news, "while I was at it, I checked all of them. And even though you were correct, there turned out to be one more."

"One more?" the beta's face scrunched up in worry and concentration. "What do you mean?"

Erwin opened his mouth to answer but was interrupted by a knock on his door.

He frowned at the door wondering who it might be. Armin's eyes nervously flickered between the alpha and the door.

"Come in!" Erwin called after a few seconds of rising tension as he quickly cleared all the papers on his desk away.

The door opened immediately to show a very restless looking soldier. The boy saluted stiffly before elaborating. "Commander Erwin, Commander Nile Dawk just arrived and he's asking to talk to you."

* * *

 **A/N:** Behold, a cliffhanger! :D

Shameless self-promo time  
Again, a link to my tumblr (chenziee . tumblr . com) because I need Validation. But really, I ended up using it to bitch about life more than I originally intended so I can't blame you if you run away cringing ^^;;


	9. A Little Bundle of Police

Armin was sweating and breathing hard by the time he arrived to the door of Captain Levi's private room. He knocked loudly and waited, getting no response. He knocked again desperately, trying the knob after a second. The door was locked and he couldn't hear anything from the other side either.

He was starting to panic. Where? Where could he be?

...Eren's room!

God damn it. The blond heaved a frustrated sigh at running up the stairs for nothing; only to have to run back down again. If he weren't so worried, he'd be pretty annoyed but now he only turned around, taking the stairs two at a time until he reached the bottom floor. It was probably a safety hazard and Mikasa would scold him if she knew; but she didn't so Armin could only mentally apologize to his friend.

He banged loudly on the door leading to the basement only to give them a fair warning before bursting in. When he finally caught his balance at the bottom and looked up, he momentarily forgot why he was even there.

Never in his life had he seen a picture this bizarre. Eren was perched on his bed, completely stiff, and staring at his hands. The Captain was sitting criss-crossed on Eren's table trying to look nonchalant but firmly staring out the tiny window close to the ceiling that you couldn't see anything from. Both of their faces were flaming red.

Armin blinked a few times taking in the scene before he violently shook his head to focus on the problem at hand. He made a mental note to ask Eren what this was about another day.

"Eren, Captain, there's a problem."

Finally the two of them startled and looked at him, as if only now noticing he was there. However, as soon as Armin's words sunk in, they both straightened up and Levi jumped off the table with his typical unreadable expression back in place. "What is it, Armin?"

The beta, finally catching his breath, stood at attention with a salute, "Commander Nile Dawk arrived a short while ago and he wanted to speak with Commander Erwin."

Levi and Eren exchanged a quick look before focusing back on the blond. "Did he say why he was here?" Levi questioned warily.

Armin shook his head before replying, "Commander Erwin dismissed me before speaking with him so I don't know."

"Okay, well, let's not jump into conclusions but let's better be careful until he leaves. I'm going to check out the situation and I'll stay in my room tonight." He turned to Eren, "You stay here and don't wander anywhere."

"Yes sir," the omega replied immediately, not a trace of doubt in his voice.

Levi nodded and took off, leaving the two friends alone.

They were silent for a minute, each stuck in their own thoughts. Finally the blond sighed, "I should probably go as well. It's getting late anyway and you need to sleep after today. You've gotta be exhausted"

Eren nodded silently in answer so Armin took it as his cue to leave. He was almost at the stairs when he looked back and said in a gentle voice, "Don't worry too much. I probably just overreacted and it's something completely unrelated."

His friend smiled. "Yeah, probably."

Armin smiled back, mumbling a good night but before he could even reach the door, Eren's voice stopped him again. "How did you know about this anyway?"

Armin froze. He could lie and say he ran into Nile Dawk when he arrived, but than Eren would question why he was just wandering about so late. He was a terrible liar, too. And now he was thinking for too long and such an innocent explanation wouldn't explain that.

He didn't look at Eren when he admitted, "I had something to talk about with the Commander."

He could picture the confusion spreading over Eren's face perfectly. "Like what?"

Armin sighed, before answering in a pleading voice, "Please, don't ask, Eren. You will know when the timing is right."

"You're going to keep secrets from me?" Eren sounded hurt but Armin could only look at him with raised eyebrows shifting his gaze to pointedly stare at the omegas stomach.

Eren shifted uncomfortably, dropping his gaze guiltily. "Point taken. But... is it something bad?"

Armin looked away again. "Could be. But it's still not certain. We don't have enough information."

"You will tell us as soon as you can, right?"

Armin smiled. "Of course." He hoped he sounded convincing enough. Of course he would tell Eren as soon as he could but that didn't mean he wouldn't find out probably long after Mikasa and Levi would. Eren wasn't good at controlling his emotions, anger especially, and it was likely he would confront anyone he was told to be suspicious before any solid plan of action was formed.

A controlled exhale of, "Okay," was Eren's only response so Armin started up the stairs again. Right before he closed the door after him, he heard Eren call after him, "Good night!"

He returned the sentiment, hoping this particular crisis was averted for now.

* * *

Stalking through the hallways Levi wondered how to go about this. If Nile was here because of them – or even just because of Eren and Eren only, Hanji needed to know, too. Even though they had no real idea _what_ was going on, they had to prepare for the worst of possibilities. If her false report got busted, she had to make sure any evidence against them was well out of sight. And use all the time they could get her to come up with a cover story.

So first stop was Hanji's lab.

Then... Then he'd see.

* * *

"So Nile, to what do we owe the pleasure at this late hour no less?"

Nile rolled his eyes before dropping tiredly into one of the chairs in front of Erwin's desk. "If I'm being honest, I'm not even sure myself anymore." Erwin raised his eyebrows at the unexpected answer as he watched Nile rub at his eyes in obvious irritation. "Do you have anything to drink? Something strong, preferably."

Erwin regarded the other for a few seconds before rising to his feet and walking over to a small cabinet in the corner of his office without a word. He took out a bottle of alcohol and two glasses before returning to his desk, pouring them both a shot.

Nile thanked him before grabbing one of the glasses and taking a grateful sip.

The blond alpha seated himself back in his own chair. "So what exactly is going on?"

Nile stared into his glass for a long time before saying anything. "Did you request for some soldiers' personal files about a week ago?"

Erwin frowned. Why was _that_ the problem? "Yes, why?"

Nile sighed heavily. "Because today, just as I was about to leave my office for the day, some guy from the First Military Police Brigade came in with an official order from the king to immediately go and find out why – by 'any means necessary'. What the hell did you do now Erwin?"

Silence settled in the office for a long while as the two Commanders stared at each other.

After long minutes Erwin took a thoughtful sip of his best liquor. "This time I honestly have no idea."

Nile groaned. "Oh, great. At least tell me what, who and why so I have at least something to give them."

"Well, I only did a standard background check on the new members of Squad Levi. They are to work closely with Eren Jaeger after all. Nothing that should concern the First Brigade or even the normal Military police, much less the King himself."

"Well apparently it _does,_ in some way," Nile growled, gulping down what was left in his glass, gesturing for Erwin to pour him a new shot.

Erwin quickly finished his drink as well so he could refill both their glasses. "I didn't find anything that connected to the government in any way or form during my investigation. But between you and me, with this questioning they've only aroused my curiosity to look into it deeper," Erwin said with a wry smile.

"For your own good, don't," replied Nile drily.

Erwin chuckled. "I don't think I could even if I wanted to now."

"It's not that you couldn't, it's only that it probably wouldn't end well for you or the Survey corps in general."

"Yeah... Nile, do you at least know which one of those kids is the one who caused this?"

Nile shook his head. "No idea. I didn't even know you were forming a new Special operations squad until now."

Erwin shrugged. "We couldn't very well leave Eren with only Levi to protect him."

The policeman scowled. "You mean leave him unsupervised, no?"

The blond smiled knowingly. "Eren really doesn't need supervising. What he does need, though, is _protection_ since there are a lot of people who'd rather see him dead and we can't afford to lose him. Even you know that, don't you?"

"Why the hell should I agree with you?" Nile's scowl deepened. "I'd rather see him locked up to be studied than running around."

"That's still him being alive," Erwin pointed out. "But Nile, I think you know how important Eren is. Not the Commander of the Military Police but Nile Dawk knows that Eren's power is necessary in this war."

"Why would I think that."

Erwin reclined in his chair, taking a few seconds to weight his next words, "How long have we known each other?"

The dark haired alpha snorted. "Too long."

Erwin smirked in return. "I have to say I agree. But that also means I know you quite well by now and I regret to say you are pretty readable."

"What's that supposed to mean?" Nile protested loudly. The alcohol was starting to get to him.

"During the trial with Eren, did you really believe all the stuff you were saying?"

The other quickly deflated, glaring daggers at his old friend. But he didn't say anything so Erwin continued, "You are not stupid Nile. And at one point you did want to join the Corps with me. I can't help but believe you weren't as against handing Eren over as you wanted everyone to believe."

Heavy silence settled over the room once again, only interrupted by the men sipping from their glasses occasionally.

It was a long time until Nile confirmed Erwin's observations. "You're damn creepy when you do this people reading shit, you know that, Erwin? I always hated this about you; ever since I met you. And it's not like you're always right either." He drank most of his glass at once before glaring at Erwin who was looking all too smug. It pissed Nile off even more but he couldn't be bothered to do anything about it. "But if you absolutely _must_ know, I was following orders. The First Brigade wanted Eren and they gave me all the documents, ready with all the important information and arguments brought to attention. They told me to do everything I could to win the trial. Didn't explain why. I didn't even know what I was arguing for."

Nile sounded bitter, yet resigned. Like he got used to following orders he couldn't understand long ago.

"Do you know-"

Nile glared at Erwin as he interrupted him, "No, Erwin, I don't know. I don't _want_ to know. I learned that if people ask too many questions, if they know too much, if they _pry_ too much," he looked Erwin straight in the eyes, the unvoiced implication of who exactly he was talking about right now left hanging between them, "they don't end well."

Erwin was silent for a second, narrowing his eyes at the other. "And you have too much to lose now to wonder about where the truth is."

"Yes," Nile shot back immediately, unashamed. "My family is my greatest accomplishment and I refuse to take any risks."

"But I am different from you." Nile snorted in ironic amusement but Erwin ignored him. "I could never abandon humanity for something selfish like love."

"Obviously. I could never understand you, choosing titans over Marie, over happiness. But I wouldn't be so sure which one of us is the more selfish one. At least I _know_ I am selfish and realize full well _what_ I am protecting."

Neither of their expressions changed the least bit as the tension noticeably raised between the two; things that had been left unsaid for too long, old wounds and rivalry only adding to the heavy atmosphere quickly spreading around them.

Just when it seemed something was going to snap any second, the dark haired alpha got up, putting his glass away with surprising fineness. His voice betrayed his calm demeanor, however, as it was obviously strained with held back emotions. "So I gather you only did standard background investigation on people who are to be entrusted with keeping Eren Jaeger in check. You didn't find anything suspicious nor do you expect any more investigation to be necessary. Thank you for your kind cooperation, Commander Smith. I will leave in the morning."

Erwin rose to his feet as well, nodding at his Police counterpart. "Yes, of course. You can always count on my cooperation, Commander Dawk. Your room for the night should be prepared by now. Shall I show you the way?"

The tension was slowly dissolving as Nile rolled his eyes. "I think I can find the only guest room you have here, Erwin. The last room on the top floor, right?"

Erwin nodded again, small smile finding its way back to his lips. "Yes. I'll send someone to get you in the morning when breakfast is ready."

"Thanks," Nile mumbled, striding over to the door. "Good night, Smith."

"Good night, Nile."

They nodded at each other before the dark haired man opened the door to leave only to reveal Captain Levi in all his unaffected glory, leaning against the wall right opposite him.

Nile startled slightly, staring at Levi questioningly. The other only shrugged. "Heard the government's puppy was here so I decided to see it for myself."

Erwin shot Levi a warning look from inside his office over Nile's shoulder as the man glared.

"Captain Levi."

"Commander Dawk," responded Levi in mock respectful tone with an overly enthusiastic salute.

Nile narrowed his eyes but didn't comment while Erwin had to resist the urge to groan and rub his face in frustration. Levi really was the last person to be of help the situation. Why did he always make it a point to make his, and by extension the whole Corps' relationship with the Military police even worse than it already was? It was only giving Erwin a headache.

Luckily, Nile apparently wasn't in the mood to confront Levi so he only sent him another glare, which Levi met with his bored stare, and headed for the stairs to finally retire for the night.

As soon as his steps faded in the distance, Levi strode into Erwin's office purposefully, shutting the door behind him. "Why is he here?" he barked immediately.

Erwin sighed at his Captain's aggression that was no doubt fueled by protectiveness and in large by his categorical dislike of the Military police. He refilled the two glasses still standing on his table gesturing for Levi to have a drink.

The shorter complied, though not before carefully ridding the glass of any remains of its previous user with his handkerchief. "So?"

"There is apparently someone in your new squad who is in some way connected to the king."

Levi's eyebrows shot up at record speed.

Erwin shrugged. "I'm as clueless as you are. Why would someone connected to the king be in the Survey Corps? However, the First Military police brigade sent Nile to question me about my background checks on your squad."

The small alpha frowned in confusion. "Wait, what brigade?"

"I'm not surprised you don't know; not many people do. The First Military Police Brigade is like a secret squad serving directly under the king. There are special rules applying to them and no one really knows what they do."

Levi's eyebrows rose even higher, if that was possible. "So they can do whatever the fuck they want and no one can say shit, and even the fucking Military police _Commander_ has to listen to them like he's nothing but their dog?"

Erwin took a long sip from his glass before looking Levi in the eyes. "That's pretty much it, yes."

"So I really have some real big-shot spoilt brat in my squad?"

The blond rubbed his chin in thought. "I wouldn't be so sure. To me it seems more like someone whose existence they are desperately trying to hide."

"And we don't know why or who it is."

"Exactly."

"Great." Levi downed his glass in one shot.

* * *

Before Levi left not long after, Erwin couldn't help but beg of him, "Levi, Nile's leaving right after breakfast tomorrow. Please, behave until he's gone and don't provoke him. No more of that stuff like what you said to him a while ago."

Levi smirked at his friend. "I can certainly try but I can't guarantee anything. He's just asking for it with his face only."

Now Erwin really groaned.

He took a minute to get his bearings back after he heard the door shut after the Captain but then he opened one of his drawers heavily, pulling out all the nine files he hid before Nile came in. Spreading the papers in front of himself he stared at the photos attached to each file, particularly at six of them.

"So which one of you is the fourth one?"

* * *

 **A/N:** The fact that I managed to write and edit this chapter, all today, I consider kind of a miracle. And it definitely happened only thanks to The Love of My Life, The Light in My Darkest Days, who managed to cheer me up after I felt pretty terrible most of yesterday. (Read: I felt like shit yesterday but my dog had to take a bath for medical reasons and he was so freaking cute in his suffering I couldn't keep feeling like shit. Where would people be without their pets?)


	10. A Special Bundle of Halloween

**A/N:** This chapter is _not_ to be taken seriously. It's not relavant to the plot in any way, shape or form, so you can just skip and ignore it :) This is just a silly story of them all being dressed up for the day. (And then I thought I couldn't leave it just being that, gotta add some mystery or something scary! And so there's neither, instead it just turned sad...)

Just a fair warning; I'm terrible at descriptions so I apologize in advance. _:(´□`」 ∠):_

* * *

Two people were stalking through the hallways of the castle with purpose, silently and carefully sneaking around as to not draw any unwanted attention. Reaching their goal, the first person listened at the door for any noise before looking at their partner in crime. "Do you have everything ready?" they whispered.

The other looked around nervously. "Yes. But is it really necessary?" they whispered back before handing over the stack of fabric they carried in their arms.

" _Of course_ it's necessary! Don't chicken out now."

"It's not like I can, you're my superior," the more nervous one muttered in resignation.

"Come on, it's not like I forced you into coming with me," the leader shot back as they carefully opened the door and slipped in.

The unwilling accomplice sighed. Next time they will leave their superior to die alone, they thought not for the first time that night or week.

* * *

When Levi woke up the next morning, a neat stack of clothes sitting on top of his chest of drawers caught his attention. He frowned in confusion, cocking his head to the side. Where did it come from?

He walked over, picking the black piece on top to look at it. To his horror, he realized it was a short, black on the outside, red on the inside cape with a horrifyingly ugly high collar. When he was inspecting the rest of the clothes with wide eyes, unveiling a red cravat, a white and red shirt, a black vest, black gloves and pants, a piece of paper came fluttering to the floor. He picked it up to read it.

 _Please wear this today! If you don't I will tell everyone the reason why you hold you cups weird and I don't care if I have to make something embarrassing up! 3_

 _PS: Look into the mirror, before going down!_

"...Fucking Hanji."

* * *

Nothing could have prepared Nile for what he saw when he came down for breakfast after the night he spent at the Survey corps' headquarters. Why was everyone dressed... weird? Practically no one was in uniform and... were those pumpkins? What?

Wait, was that guy dressed as a horse?

He walked to the officers' table, twisting his head all the way over, staring at everything and anything. He dropped into the empty chair next to Erwin who was eyeing him with obvious amusement.

"Erwin Smith, excuse me, but what the fuck is going on."

Erwin chuckled as he put down his steaming cup before answering, "Squad Leader Hanji is pretty enthusiastic about Halloween, isn't she?"

"'Pretty enthusiastic'? Are you telling all of this is her work?"

"Yep! Impressive, right?" came the response from behind Nile and when he turned around, he had to blink a few times as he came face to face with a white sheet with two holes for eyes. "What the..."

"Hanji, why do you have that sheet?" Erwin for once sounded as confused as Nile felt.

It seemed Hanji spread her arms under her costume as the white fabric raised at the sides. "I'm a ghost!"

"If I may ask..." started Nile in awe. "Why, if you did all this and it's so elaborate, are you dressed only in a sheet?"

Now it looked like Hanji was scratching her head awkwardly. "I might have been so busy coming up with everyone's costumes that I forgot to make mine and only realized when I woke up?"

Nile only blinked, not comprehending but then movement caught his attention and he watched as Captain Levi stomped over to the ghost – Hanji – angrily, dressed in what seemed like what you would wear to those big shot parties in black and red colors. Only there was... something... up on his head...

As soon as he was close enough, Levi grabbed Hanji by her pony-tail even while it was hidden by the ghost costume and forced her to face him.

"Oh, Levi, you're actually wearing it!"

"Cut the crap, Shitty Foureyes, what the fuck are these?" he growled, gesturing to his head.

"Oh! Bat wings! You're a sexy vampire and have bat wings to symbolize the night and darkness!"

"And _why_ exactly are those things fucking _glued_ to my hair?"

"What do you mean?" Nile thought she probably tried to sound confused and scandalized but she only sounded on the verge of laughing. "They obviously grow from your head!"

Levi grit his teeth as Hanji actually burst out laughing. "Stop shitting with me, or I'll break your last glasses."

"You wouldn't! I wouldn't be able to see anything! Fine, if you have to know, I did it because I knew you'd never put them on otherwise!"

Nile looked back at Erwin helplessly, but the blond only shook his head. "Ignore them, this is normal."

Nile was still skeptical but did as suggested and instead took a good look at the Commander. "So why exactly are you dressed as the Grim Reaper? And where did the scythe come from?"

Erwin shrugged, "We found it in the tool shed when we first moved the headquarters here. I completely forgot about it until Hanji brought it to me. And I have it because Hanji suggested it and I fully embrace the irony of it."

"That's morbid," mumbled Nile, making a face.

"I don't deny that," Erwin said with a smile, watching as Levi stomped off in the direction of his own squad's table and Hanji sat down in her chair opposite of Nile looking kind of ruffled but with glasses intact.

"He agreed not to rip them off," Hanji announced, sounding a little out of breath but satisfied when she managed to untangle herself from her sheet so she could eat and converse normally. She still kept it around her shoulders though.

"Good. He would probably hurt himself before getting them off."

"True; I did a good job!"

At that moment Nanaba arrived, closely followed by Mike. "Do I want to know?"

"It's just Levi's costume... Wait, why are you in your uniform?"

Nanaba shrugged a slight blush on her face. "I have the cat ears, isn't that enough? Mike is in his uniform, too."

"But... But..."

"Hanji, leave it. No one would want to wear a cat costume all day."

Hanji grumbled a little but luckily listened and Nanaba shot a grateful look to her Commander, who only smiled back.

Nile on the other hand kept staring at Mike. He was indeed dressed in his uniform but on his head, there was some weird contraption. It was black and covered his whole face, only with holes for eyes and around the general mouth area, there was something like a beaker with holes in the bottom. Nile had no idea what he was looking at.

"Um, Mike, what are you supposed to be dressed as?" he asked hesitatingly.

Mike looked at him with a sniff and then shrugged, looking at Hanji instead.

She got the message and began explaining. "Oh, some time ago I read an old story about this young man who could sense danger and when he wore this gas mask thing, this ability got stronger to the point of seeing the future. I thought that Mike was a little like that so I tried making him his own 'gas mask'."

Everyone stared at the gas mask on Mike's face in contemplation.

"So what is this mask for?"

"No idea! Also I didn't fully grasp what it was supposed to look like so I used my imagination."

"Well, when you know the story behind it, it doesn't look as stupid anymore..." mumbled Nanaba into the ensuing silence.

Everyone could only nod in agreement and then laugh at the picture Hanji made as she jumped up with loud protests, her hair a mess and face flushed still from when she was hidden under her sheet, and said sheet dangling from one of her shoulders.

* * *

Levi managed to school his expression to one of cool indifference before he arrived to his table and sat gracefully in his seat.

Still, the brats stared at him, in silent astonishment and Levi suspected he knew why. "Why are you staring like a bunch of idiots?"

"Because _you_ look like one," he could hear someone, probably Ymir, mumble, though it was swiftly covered by somebody else loudly clearing their throat.

He narrowed his eyes but didn't comment. Instead waited for a proper response.

"Sir, we're just surprised Hanji managed to rope you into dressing up as well," Jean tried the diplomatic approach but still kept blatantly staring at the top of his Captain's head.

Levi still didn't say anything.

"Um, sir?" Sasha raised her hand, "What's with those wings on your head?"

Everyone around the table gasped loudly. Ah yes, you can always count on Sasha to say the things that should be left unsaid.

"Whatever could you mean, Sasha?" Levi asked in mock confusion as he adjusted his fancy cravat. He was dead set on ignoring The Things until he could take them off.

He could hear Mikasa snort on his left and he resisted the urge to glare at her. Instead he picked up the cup that Eren put in front of him like he did every morning.

"Honestly, it really ruins the whole cool image of the costume," Reiner said thoughtfully.

These kids really didn't know when to shut up. The Captain ran a slow once-over of the whole group, trying hard to let it show just how much he was judging them. Finally, he looked into his cup and calmly stated, "I really don't thing you guys have any right to talk shit about other people's clothes."

They looked down at themselves and then looked back up with a shrug and nodded, agreeing Levi had a fair point.

If Levi was being honest, he almost felt sorry for Jean in his centaur costume and Bertholt in his tree costume. They had it worst. Reiner was arguably right there with them; however, he looked like he wore his skimpy maid dress with pride.

On the other side of the spectrum Levi placed Sasha and Connie, who acted in tune with their costumes beautifully, though it very much disgusted him. Sasha was dressed as a zombie and Connie as her victim. Connie even had his buzz cut shaved off completely and in its place was a painting of broken skull and leaking brain. Levi would bet all his tea it was Moblit's work. Both their costumes were pretty impressive, the only problem was how they were acting in character – Sasha had Connie's arm in her clutches and was using it as a platter, making it seem like she was eating him when in fact she was eating actual food. It was disgusting on too many levels.

The rest of the squad was somewhere in between. Christa as the goddess Sina, Ymir as the devil, Mikasa as a witch with a giant hat perched on her head that Levi had to admit suited her well even in its weirdness, Armin as... a pumpkin human? He looked funny but it seemed he didn't mind it much. Eren was dressed as some kind of werewolf and he would look pretty good if it weren't for the atrocious brown and orange striped pants. And were those fake furry paws on his feet?

In the end, the small alpha came to the conclusion that none of them had it quite as bad as Moblit, the poor guy who probably had to do most of the work and then ended up in a titan costume.

The rest of breakfast passed in a good mood, everyone commenting on each other's costumes. As you listened to them, you could see that most of them actually took pride in what they wore and were protective of it. It was no surprise Jean wasn't one of them.

"Brats, today we're going out for our maneuver gear training so go prepare your gear and horses as soon as you're done eating."

A chorus of yes sirs was his response and Levi almost nodded in satisfaction when he noticed Mikasa raising her hand. He raised his eyebrows at her in question.

"I can't do maneuver gear training today, sir," she said matter-of-factly.

Levi frowned in confusion. "And why the hell not?"

She gave him a serious look and pointed to her head. "My hat will fall off."

Levi could only stare at the girl in stunned astonishment before Armin burst out laughing and Eren started passionately lecturing her in his place. The alpha only shook his head when he noticed the tiny smile Mikasa couldn't hide as she was missing her scarf today.

* * *

Levi was the last one in the mess hall that morning. He just sat there in his fancy vampire costume in silence, eyes closed, cold tea in front of him. It was a long time before he could hear the door open and someone walk in. The quiet tapping of fake claws let him know it was Eren.

The boy didn't say anything until he was standing next to his superior, and even then he spoke almost in a whisper as if afraid he'd break the serene atmosphere, "Sir, the horses are ready. I told Connie to prepare yours so we can leave anytime."

Levi opened his eyes at the sound of his voice and looked up at the omega expressionlessly. Still, Eren frowned, walking closer. He ran one of his hands through Levi's hair, concern plainly visible in his eyes. "Are you okay?"

Levi nodded, leaning into his light touch. "Yeah. Just thinking."

"About what?" Eren asked in a whisper.

Levi sighed heavily. "Do you know why Hanji insists on doing this every year?"

Eren shook his head, now confused.

Levi smiled mirthlessly. "Because she's trying to divert the attention away from the true meaning of the holiday."

Eren's hand stilled in Levi's hair. Now that he thought about it, it made perfect sense. Just what kind of place would the Survey corps be if they spent the day remembering their dead, feeling like the ghosts of their fallen comrades could jump out at them at any time since today was the day the world of the dead and the world of the living were the closest to each other?

Eren tried looking into Levi's eyes to see how he was doing but Levi wasn't looking at him anymore. He was looking at the table and only when he followed his gaze did Eren notice the four tea cups sitting untouched in the chairs closest to Levi, safe for the one his left – Eren's old seat.

Eren wanted to cry.

"I saw some flowers still blooming behind the training grounds; we can go visit them in the evening." Eren felt his voice break a little by the end of the sentence.

Levi closed his eyes again, nodding silently. After a few seconds of stillness he got up abruptly, his Captain demeanor back. "Come on, Eren. Gotta get you brats in proper shape before winter."

"Yes sir!" Eren said loudly, saluting his superior before quickly following him out of the mess hall.

As he was shutting the door closed behind them, Eren shot a quick glance at their table and the five cups still sitting there. For the split second before the door obscured his vision, he felt like he could see Petra smiling at them from her seat.

* * *

 **A/N:** I'm sorry...? :D

Anyway, if you were wondering, the story Mike's "costume" is based on is the story of Terror man, a Korean webtoon. I thought it was fitting... ^^;; And the costumes of Levi, Eren, Mikasa and Armin are the ones from the SnK video game because I'm still not over them half a year later.

 **Fun Fact that didn't make it into the story #1:** At first, Krista was the one who was supposed to wear the maid outfit but Ymir... strongly opposed. Reiner volunteered after that.

 **Fun Fact that didn't make it into the story #2:** Levi had to wear the bat wings for a week before they came off.


	11. A Little Bundle of Plan

"Hey, guys, is it just me or is something up with Eren?" Connie whispered to his friends as he warily watched the happenings at the other side of the table during breakfast a few days after Commander Dawk's surprise visit.

Krista shook her head slowly. "No, something is definitely wrong."

Just as she finished her sentence, the sound of a chair scraping against the floor echoed around their table as Eren shot up with a hand covering his mouth. He quickly ran out of the mess hall, Armin following soon behind him, after a quick hushed discussion with Mikasa.

In the few seconds of silence that followed, they could hear Jean's voice asking, "How long is this going to last?" to which Mikasa only shrugged helplessly.

The rest of the squad exchanged looks. "Do you think the food's gone bad?"

"If that was the case _you_ 'd be the first one to get sick," Ymir sneered at Sasha's worried question. Everyone else nodded in agreement.

"And it wouldn't explain why Mikasa is so calm about it. He's been sick for days..." Connie added.

"Yeah, neither does it explain why he keeps missing morning practice but not any of the others," joined in Reiner.

"Guys, you don't think..." Krista paused thinking better of sharing her idea. It was absurd but if she happened to be right, there had to be a reason Eren didn't tell them yet.

"What?"

Krista shook her head. "No, it's nothing." She received a few skeptical looks but no one inquired further.

* * *

"I think the others are starting to notice something's going on," Eren mumbled while Hanji prodded and poked around his stomach.

"Hmm? Why do you think so?" Hanji asked distractedly, writing something down.

"I don't know, they keep staring at me and asking if I'm alright."

Hanji shrugged. "Well, it's natural; you've been throwing up a lot lately."

"Ugh, don't remind me. I brushed my teeth, like, six times since I woke up and it still feels disgusting."

Hanji patted the unhappy omega on the shoulder, pitying him silently. With every passing day she was more and more sure she didn't want a kid of her own. It just wasn't worth the trouble and pain and she was quite happy with her experiments, the subjects being like her children to her.

"But it's too suspicious. I know I can't do anything about how sick I feel but what if someone realizes what's going on?"

Hanji smiled soothingly as she heard the faintest hint of panic in Eren's voice. "Don't worry, I don't think anyone but your squad pays you enough attention or spends enough time with you to notice. It's going to be fine and the throwing up will stop soon enough."

"How soon is soon?" Eren questioned with blatant hope shining in his eyes and Hanji could only chuckle.

"Probably not as soon as you'd hope."

Eren visibly deflated at that but quickly returned his attention back to the actual problem when Hanji threw his shirt at him. "But what do we do if someone from the squad finds out but won't know not to say anything? Shouldn't we tell them before it's too late?"

Hanji smiled wryly at him. "Well, that's not for me to say. It should be a decision for you two to make but I don't recommend ignoring Erwin. Do you want me to talk to him about it?"

"You would?" It was obvious the boy didn't want to talk to the Commander himself.

The beta shrugged, gathering some documents along the way. "Sure. I have to go report to him now anyway so it's no problem." She smiled at the boy knowingly. "You wouldn't like having to keep secrets from your friends much longer, right? Especially once they directly ask you."

"It's not that I really mind keeping secrets," Eren paused and blushed a little, scratching at his head in embarrassment. "I know it's necessary but I'm aware I'm a terrible liar. I don't want to cause any more trouble."

Hanji blinked a few times before she burst out laughing and Eren stared at her in complete confusion for a second before she engulfed him in a hug which only baffled him more.

"Oh, Eren, you're so precious!" the beta squealed before she tightened her hold on the other and grew serious. "But seriously, stop thinking everything is your fault or that you have to do everything by yourself. You're going to break at this rate." Besides, it was them pushing everything on Eren so if anyone was to be feeling guilty, it was the society and mainly the top of the Survey Corps.

Eren frowned up at Hanji as the scientist smiled sadly at him, ruffling his hair, before she left him alone in the lab. Eren sat there quietly for a long time after the door was closed, staring into space and mulling over what Hanji had said. He didn't think he had to take responsibility for everything. Or did he?

* * *

Hanji knocked on the door to Erwin's office a few minutes later, interrupting what seemed like the beginning of the secret little meeting they had there. She knew she would be late. Why did Eren have to be so cute?

"Sorry, did I miss anything?" Hanji asked apologetically as she looked over who was there. Obviously Erwin but next to him stood Armin and in the chair opposite of them sat Mike... and Jean?

This was going to be interesting.

"No, it's okay, Hanji. We haven't even started yet," assured Erwin calmly and gestured to the only empty chair which Hanji took gratefully.

"First, Hanji, please, how's Eren's condition?" Erwin asked when everyone was settled.

Hanji pushed her glasses up as she looked down on the papers in her lap. "Everything seems okay. His morning sickness finally started so I think there aren't any problems with the pregnancy."

"And the experiments?" The blond alpha prompted.

"I have the reports here; I'll give them to you after. But so far it seems his shifting ability hasn't been affected. Only the regeneration ability seems to be changing. At first it was faint but now it's obvious it's being focused around the child. He regenerates much faster in the stomach area than any other. Subconsciously he tries to protect his child with any means he has."

Erwin hummed, "That's interesting."

Hanji beamed with excitement. "Isn't it? It is right?! I was _so_ delighted when I realized!" She deflated slightly when she realized she was nearly shouting and this was a secret meeting. "But even the concentrated regeneration isn't as fast as his normal rate was. The pregnancy is taking a lot of energy from him as is, and with my experiments and his training on top of that, I'm worried it will be too much for him soon."

"So we either lay off the experiments or the training before it's too late."

"Exactly. I'd like to keep the experiments going as long as possible so I say to start reducing the amount of training he gets."

Erwin nodded in understanding. "Alright. I'll talk to Levi about it. Anything else?"

"Actually, Eren said his friends are starting to notice something's wrong. I think you should let him tell them before they figure it out and start rumors." The beta shrugged as if it was no big deal.

"Actually, that's why I called you here," Erwin said, giving all of the present a serious look. "I decided to let Levi's squad know about Eren's condition now but there are some... set-backs."

"Umm, may I... have a question...?" Jean asked, hesitation and uncertainty all but radiating off him, and all eyes turned at him.

Erwin cocked his head with a slight smile. "Go ahead."

"Why... why am I here? And not Eren or Captain Levi?" It was a wonder his voice didn't shake and Jean thanked the walls for that. He might have attended a few meetings with the Commander but never alone like this. Sure Armin was there, but he was on _the other side of the desk_ and that honestly scared Jean even more.

"Erwin's expression didn't change. It was pretty obvious he expected Jean to ask sooner or later. "Because we need someone capable close to Eren to know about this and we deemed you to be the most fitting of the role. You might not be as skilled as Levi or Miss Ackerman, however, you have great judgment and you are currently not as emotionally clouded when things concern Eren as the two of them are. Their protective instincts prevent them from acting rationally. Armin didn't feel adequate enough by himself, so here you are."

Jean only nodded, still trying to process what the Commander said.

Hanji took hold of the silence with her own question, "Is this about the background checks you did?"

Erwin nodded in answer. "Yes. Armin suggested to look into the childhood records of two people from the current squad."

He paused and everyone kept silent, intently listening for what the Commander found out.

"Just to be sure, I looked into all the past members of the 104th Training Corps who have joined us and survived. Coincidently, all of them are now members of the Special Operation's squad. But I found exactly what Armin suspected, only more. There weren't any records about three people up until the fall of wall Maria five years ago."

Hanji sat up straighter at that information. "Any?"

Erwin nodded. "Absolutely none. Even Eren, Mikasa and Armin, who come from Shiganshina, have at least basic information from before that. But these three, all their information was taken down only in Trost when they evacuated."

"That's impossible. All citizens' records of birth and such are stored in Sina." Hanji shook her head in disbelief.

"Yes. Unless their files got erased by someone but I can't imagine why. Moreover, I know for a fact they would rather get falsified then destroyed completely. Or they aren't citizens and either they came to the surface from the underground, but then there is no explanation of why they materialized in Trost and not somewhere within wall Sina. _Or_ they aren't citizens and only arrived within the walls on that day five years ago."

Complete silence settled over the room.

"Who are they?" Jean growled, forgetting all formalities in his rage when memories from the battle of Trost caused by the Colossal and Armored Titan flashed before his eyes.

"Erwin gave him a grave look before shaking his head. "I'm not finished, yet."

The three gaped at him while Armin only looked down sadly. "All three of you are well aware that Commander Dawk came here a few days ago."

They all nodded, not looking away from Erwin.

"Well, apparently within Levi's squad there is also someone with direct connections to the King."

Mike sniffed, voicing the shock that hit them all, "How?"

"That is the mystery. Obviously their records got falsified excellently because after Nile left, I looked at all the files much closer than before but I couldn't find anything."

"But... Why is someone like that _here?_ "

Erwin sighed heavily. "Your guess is as good as mine. We don't even have any means to find out whether they are on our side or not. Are they a spy? Were they a servant who got fired but somehow holds sensitive information? Were they an illegitimate child whose existence was too shameful? Is it someone who is here because they genuinely believe in our cause and we have nothing to worry about?

"Well, we sat down with Armin as he knows much more about the soldiers than I do, and thought about each of them individually. We ruled out Eren for obvious reasons and then Mikasa and Armin as well. Mikasa because it's unlikely they would bring her up during Eren's trial if they wanted to keep the attention off of her, and Armin because his parents were both members of the Survey Corps."

"And me?" Jean asked in a small voice like he was scared of the answer.

Erwin gave him a piercing look that didn't settle the young alpha's worries in the least. "We didn't actually rule you out. But both Armin and Eren swore you're trustworthy."

Jean looked up at Armin who smiled at him shyly and Jean felt this weird wave of thankfulness wash over him. He smiled back.

"So we won't give you any names. I want you to treat everyone in Levi's squad as suspicious but if possible don't let them know you suspect them. Wait for their move and protect Eren at all cost."

"Erwin," Mike spoke pretty much for the first time since the meeting started and Erwin nodded for him to continue. "Why do you think we should now be more cautious than before? Wasn't Eren in the same amount of danger? Why even call for this meeting?"

"Actually," surprisingly it was Armin who answered. All eyes turned on him and he blushed violently, looking like he wanted to apologize for interrupting, but the Commander smiled encouragingly. So Armin took a deep breath and continued. "Actually, if they are ever planning on kidnapping him like Annie tried, this is actually the perfect opportunity for them as it's likely that Eren won't put up much of a fight. He _is_ an omega and will do what he can to protect his child. Just as Squad Leader Hanji said, the squad is starting to notice something is going on. Once we tell them what it is, they are going to pay Eren even more attention and it will only be a matter of time until they notice that Eren isn't fully transforming. Sure, it's no guarantee that he can't but he _is_ reluctant to do so and the reluctance will only grow the further into pregnancy he gets."

"That makes sense," Hanji hummed in agreement. "So we really do need to keep closer watch over Eren until his pregnancy is over."

"Not exactly," Erwin leaned forward, resting his elbows on his desk. "Yes, we will keep close watch over Eren but only so no one will notice, to make them think we trust them, that they _can_ kidnap Eren."

"You want to use Eren as bait to catch them," Mike summarized in monotone and Erwin nodded.

Hanji clicked her tongue in disapproval but said nothing, knowing that Erwin probably came to this conclusion after weighing all possibilities and there was no use arguing.

But Jean didn't have years of trust to build on. His jaw dropped open and he turned accusingly at Armin, who avoided his glare. "Armin, you agreed to this?"

"Yes."

"You can't be serious!" Jean wanted to argue more, but Hanji's hand on his shoulder brought his attention to the Squad Leader and he turned furiously to her. But when his eyes were met with her troubled ones, her bottom lip in between her teeth, and shaking her head, the young alpha visibly deflated.

He slumped in his chair, only fuming silently. He didn't even understand why he was so angry about this. It was not like he _liked_ Eren. They were barely even friends, most of the time only tolerating each other. Was it the unfairness of the situation, always pushing all the risks and responsibility on Eren? Or was it just his instinct as an alpha concerned about a pregnant omega? Maybe it was a mix of both.

And suddenly, Jean understood. So this was why the Captain and Mikasa weren't there. Not because they might have murdered the whole squad just to be safe, but because they might have murdered Erwin, and Armin right along with him, for this suggestion. Or more like an order.

"Jean," the Commander said, authority dripping from his voice while his expression stayed disturbingly calm. "If we catch them before they get to Eren then what is there to worry about?"

Jean had several retorts on the tip of his tongue about how well that idea went with Annie, but held himself back. Partially thanks to the tightening of Hanji's hand still on his shoulder and partially because he felt this was a battle he couldn't win. The Commander was right. It was their best shot to catch those bastards, even if it meant risking Eren's safety. Hell, Eren would probably be delighted to be of so much use even while being out of commission.

Jean understood how important and good plan this was.

But that didn't mean he had to like it.

It took him a few minutes before he managed to force out a "Yes sir" through painfully gritted teeth.

The young alpha felt Hanji squeeze his shoulder one last time before the comfort of her hand left him.

* * *

Eren was already almost asleep in his nest of stolen blankets in Levi's bed when he felt the bed dip as his mate finally joined him. The omega hummed in approval when he felt the Captain's strong arms snake around his middle to pull him closer.

"Sorry I took so long," the alpha whispered when he settled behind Eren.

"'S okay. You have to work," Eren slurred sleepily, grabbing the other's hand with his own. The hand that wasn't rubbing small circles across his still-flat stomach.

"But I have good news."

"Really?" Eren turned his head around to blink at his mate questioningly.

Levi couldn't help but kiss him when he looked at him like that. Eren smiled into the kiss before he pulled back and turned around to face his alpha fully.

Levi hugged him close, burying his nose in the brown mess of hair. "Really. We can finally tell the squad tomorrow."

Eren perked up, almost breaking Levi's nose with how his head shot up. "Really?" he beamed, full of hope.

"Yes really," Levi confirmed with a fake eye-roll. "Now go to sleep, you're tired."

"Well, now I'm not. You woke me up."

"Oh, so it's my fault?" Levi asked with a raised eyebrow.

"Yes. I bet you did it on purpose so your insomniac ass didn't have to be so bored being up all night by itself."

"Brat. I did not."

"Did too." Eren resisted the urge to stick out his tongue. "But seriously, if one of us is tired it should be you. How much have you slept in the past week?"

"I'm _fine_ , Eren, I'm not the pregnant one. And I'm used to it. Go the hell to sleep."

"You first."

"You're such a brat," Levi grumbled, shoving Eren's face to his chest to hide his smile.

* * *

 **A/N:** Hope it was okay? And did you notice yet that I can't go a chapter without artificially sneaking an ereri moment if one doesn't fit in normally?

Did anyone miss me last week? :D If so, I'm sorry about missing an update but midterms took up all my attention ^^;; (Not that I actually studied in the time I didn't spend writing as I am a pathological procrestinator, but I honestly couldn't focus on anything. OTL )


	12. A Little Bundle of Revelation

One would think that after he had to share his secret with his closest friends, Eren wouldn't be nervous about telling the rest of the squad. After all, as opposed to Mikasa, they were not very likely to try and kill his mate.

Wrong.

Eren was a nervous wreck by the time he arrived to breakfast (late, as he was kind of busy losing his guts earlier in the morning) and he wasn't sure how he'd deal until evening when they agreed to gather the squad for a meeting. The omega was a little put off by how nervous the prospect of talking about his pregnancy made him. He never used to care about stuff like this. He was never shy with sharing his opinions or admitting to stuff he didn't regret – and he definitely didn't regret this. Nervousness was a foreign concept to him since the concern of angering his parents fell away.

But he was still nervous and the fact he didn't know why only made it worse. He wondered if this was the famous hormones issue that every pregnant person and their surroundings had to deal with. Or maybe it was the protective instincts since he was aware that the more people knew, the more danger his child faced.

He didn't know. But it pissed him off.

And so, the whole of Survey corps soon wondered why the shifter was so irritable today and as a result, most people avoided him like the plague. And ironically, the space he was given and the fear in some people's eyes as he fumed past them only made it worse.

Armin tried to talk to him, to calm him down, but after being snapped at a few too many times, he came to the conclusion that it would be safer to leave his friend be.

Levi telling him to "Calm the fuck down," during training seemed to work for short periods of time, but soon enough Eren was back to his annoying mood and Levi could only rub at his eyes and sigh.

By lunch time, Jean had enough. He aggressively strode over to the shorter boy before they called off their cleaning to go eat, having to resist the urge to punch him in the face when he was close enough for all the shit he was pulling today. Instead he only took a deep breath, grabbing Eren by the collar and dragging him out of sight and hearing range of the others who were with them.

"What the hell is wrong with you, Jaeger?" he growled in Eren's face.

"Nothing's wrong," Eren snapped back and Jean narrowed his eyes.

"What, you're pregnant so you're gonna act like a girl now?" Jean shot back, keeping his voice low.

Eren ripped the alpha's hand off of his jacket, anger evident in his eyes. "So I can't just be in a bad fucking mood?" he said, trying to sound sarcastic but failing in his rage.

Jean snorted at that. "Bad mood? This is not a bad mood, Jaeger. If it was, you'd just come pick a fight with me. That's how we fucking _work_."

Eren only glared at the other, his lips in a thin line.

Jean sighed, dragging a hand over his face in annoyance. "What are you so scared of?"

"I'm not scared!" Eren replied immediately, as if it was an automated response, and received an unimpressed look.

"Do you actually believe that or do you just think no one figured that one yet?"

Eren was silent at that, only continuing to glare at Jean, who glared right back.

Finally, the omega slumped towards the wall, hiding his face in his hands. "I guess I am scared."

"No shit," Jean mumbled to himself.

Eren kicked out towards the young alpha, who only dodged lazily.

"We're telling the others in the evening and I don't know..." Eren paused and Jean tried not to start tapping his foot impatiently. "Gah, it's just that suddenly so many people will know and I know there's most likely no one who would want to hurt us but I can't stop thinking, what if? Or what if one of them accidentally says something?"

Jean wanted to roll his eyes but after yesterday's meeting he was all too aware Eren's concerns weren't exactly wrong. Thank god they didn't tell him yet. Jean didn't want to know what a mess the other would be now if they did.

"I didn't think you were such a coward, Jaeger," Jean noted and Eren's evaporated anger was right back. But before he could say something, Jean continued, "You have to know yourself that even if you didn't trust them at all, it would be way safer for the others to know and be ordered not to talk about it, than for them to question what is going on. And come on, you have Mikasa and Humanity's Fucking _Strongest_ hounding your every step. And hell, even Squad Leader Mike and Commander Erwin. And, like, five other people just one girlish scream away. Damn, what are you even worried about?"

Eren deflated again, smiling lightly at the mention of his mate. Jean scowled in disgust. He didn't sign up for watching these terribly sweet, love sick displays.

"You're right, Jean. I was being stupid," Eren sighed, slapping both his cheeks to get himself back in gear. He looked like he fought with himself to actually say the next words, "Thanks. I needed to talk about it after all." He didn't look at Jean as he mumbled this and Jean was glad he didn't. It was weird enough to hear the omega thanking him; he didn't need it to seem sincere as well.

The alpha turned around but before he left, he called, "Well, I'm not your personal therapist so I'm not doing this again. Next time go to your damn mate before I seriously punch you."

Eren almost chuckled as Jean disappeared behind the corner.

* * *

Eren knocked on the door to Levi's office after lunch, a tray with brewed tea and two cups carefully balanced in one hand. Over the months it had become a tradition for them to share tea around this time. Eren wasn't even sure when or how exactly it started. He only knew that one day Levi told him to bring him tea and then asked if he wanted to sit down for a while and have some as well. They never agreed to make it a regular thing, but before either of them knew it, Eren was coming by every day with tea in hands and Levi had to admit he welcomed the distraction from his work. Soon it came to the point that when Eren was held up by Hanji one day and was running late, Levi became worried and went looking for him. Eren had a stupid grin plastered on his face for the rest of the day.

As it turned out when Eren entered today was one of the days when Levi was swarmed with paperwork. Eren smiled gently when his mate looked up with frustration written all over his face.

"You tea, sir."

"Thank you." Levi threw away his pen and took the opportunity to stretch with a groan. "God, I fucking hate this shitty job."

Eren chuckled as he poured the tea into the cups, handing one to Levi. "If I may be so bold, Capitan Levi, sir, you say that every day."

"Because it's still true," Levi deadpanned, eying Eren carefully. "Looks like you feel better."

Eren made a face, grabbing his own cup and flopping into his designated spot on the couch. "Yeah, sorry for the trouble. I guess I just needed a slap."

Levi frowned and Eren laughed at his expression, shaking his head. "Not literally. But I tell you, Jean is terrible at it."

Levi watched as Eren struggled with taking off his boots to make himself more comfortable. "But he helped?"

The omega shrugged. "I guess. He just made me admit out loud I was worried about this evening and, in his own kind words, reminded me I have you four and Hanji and the rest to rely on and talk to."

Levi smirked. "'And the rest.' I'm gonna tell that to Erwin, maybe he'll cry."

His mate gave him a weird look and Levi only shrugged. "So you needed Jean to realize you actually have people you can trust? As your mate, I'm hurt."

Eren rolled his eyes. "You know it's not that." He sighed before continuing, "I guess I really just needed to talk to someone."

They were silent for a long while, Eren staring into space and Levi observing him.

Finally, the alpha broke the quiet solemnly, "You know you can talk to me, right?"

Eren looked at him in surprise, before smiling, "Sure. But I didn't realize I needed it until I did. Trust me I would rather talk to anyone but Jean if it was up to me. No need to get jealous," he added with a smirk.

Levi scoffed. "I'm not jealous. Just making sure you trust your own mate."

"No need to sulk, either."

Levi shot him a dirty glare before he waved his hand dismissively. "Think what you want, but now shut up, I need to finish these as soon as I can."

Eren laughed but complied, not saying anything more, instead focusing on his tea.

The silence only lasted a short while, though. "Can we cuddle later?" the omega asked quietly, staring into his cup.

Levi looked up, seeing how small suddenly Eren looked, and he felt a smile tug at the corners of his mouth. "Of course. Why do you think I'm trying to finish this shit quickly?"

Eren peeked at him, the unvoiced question in his eyes, and Levi smirked teasingly. "You're a shitty actor, Eren."

The boy scowled and with a pout on his lips turned on the sofa so he was with his back leaning on the arm rest and thus facing away from Levi.

Now Levi actually smiled at the childish display. "You really don't have to worry; we'll be there; tonight and after that."

Eren didn't say anything but his shoulders visibly relaxed at the assurance and Levi finally returned to his work.

* * *

When the day was over and Eren lied curled up in his alpha's arms, he couldn't say telling his friends went exactly smoothly after all.

After dinner, the squad was sitting around the table in the meeting room, the chair at the head empty as Levi was running late. The tension was apparent as they waited for their Captain.

Jean was watching everyone intently, trying to play Commander Erwin and analyze everyone's expressions. But judging from the kick from Armin accompanied by an annoyed whisper of "Can you be any more obvious?" he was overdoing it.

"So, does anyone have any idea what this is about?" Krista tried but was only met with shrugs and silence. She sighed and resigned herself to the uncomfortable silence.

Finally, five minutes later entered Captain Levi, sitting down in his chair with an arm hooked behind the back of it. "Okay, brats. Let's get straight to the point. An issue has apparently come up that you need to be aware of so you don't spread some shitty rumors." He glowered at them all as it looked like some of them were ready to protest. Immediately there was silence again. "What you learn in this room stays in this room until stated otherwise or I will personally find you and feed you to Hanji's pet titans."

He paused, shooting Eren a look to let him know he could deal with the bomb now.

The omega squirmed before taking a deep breath. 'Like taking off a band aid,' he thought, bracing himself. "I'm pregnant."

It took only a second before the room exploded and Eren flinched at the noise as they all tried to talk one over the other.

Levi rubbed his eyes before slamming his hand on the table. "Shut the hell up or the whole castle will know. This is fucking confidential information," he growled dangerously, his alpha dominance helping him in not having to shout as everyone instinctively cowered as soon as he showed his displeasure.

Carefully, and silently, all the over-excited squad members sat down, not daring to say a word for a good while.

Unsurprisingly, it was Krista who spoke up first. She didn't react much to Eren's revelation, actually only wore a disturbingly self-satisfied expression as if she knew the whole time. "Congratulations, Eren."

Eren smiled slightly, nodding his thanks.

"This is so weird," Reiner laughed awkwardly. "How far along are you, even?"

"About six weeks?" Eren mumbled in response, scratching his head awkwardly.

Sasha grinned widely. "So only in a little more than seven months you're gonna pop a kid?"

"Eight months actually."

All the kids gathered around the table eyed him in confusion as Eren chuckled nervously. "Well, I'm an omega but I'm still a guy, you know? My body is not exactly prepared to carry a child at any time so it needs time to adapt a bit. Generally male omega pregnancies are ten months long. At least that's what Hanji said." He shrugged looking at his hands.

There was silence for a second before Connie asked, something akin to wonder in his voice, "Can you feel it yet?"

Everyone gaped at the buzz-cut boy in disbelief. "Connie. _Six weeks_. That's a month and a half. How would he feel anything?"

"I don't know!" Connie protested loudly. "I don't know the first thing about expecting kids, how should I know when they start to move?"

Jean rolled his eyes at the short beta's stupidity as most others snickered.

Again an awkward silence enveloped the room as everyone seemed to process the information. Finally, probably the last person Eren wanted to speak up did so for the first time. Ymir, much like Krista, didn't really react to the news, just kept resting her chin in her hand and maybe raising an eyebrow. She didn't change her position since she sat down, only now she was smirking evilly. "Anyway, to address the real issue here; I honestly didn't think Jean-bo had it in him."

A few of the others nodded in agreement as Levi had to force down a snort at the expressions that twisted both boy's faces. Disgust and disbelief didn't even begin to cover it.

"I would never even _think_ about touching the bastard and you think I made him _pregnant_?!" Jean squeaked in horror.

Ymir shrugged. "Well, after the cozy make out I interrupted after the graduation ceremony, I didn't think it was so far-fetched."

Eren and Jean both flushed bright red, their jaws falling to the floor simultaneously. All eyes turned at them in surprise and Eren dared to steal a quick glance at Levi, who seemed like he didn't know whether to be amused or angry. The omega internally cursed.

Jean was again the first to recover enough to say something in their defense. "We were drunk! And pissed after the fight! It was angry-drunk make out!" his voice was becoming more and more squeaky with every word. "And anyway! You- We agreed it never happened, you bitch!"

Ymir's smirk only grew wider. "Nope. You agreed it never happened. I never did."

Jean could only gape at her, betrayal clear in his eyes.

Some people started chuckling at the situation as Krista started reprimanding Ymir and Ymir fawned over how kind she was.

Eren finally cleared his throat, his face still aflame and voice still disturbed, "Anyway; no. Just... no."

Armin, who was sitting next to him, patted him on the shoulder sympathetically.

"Okay, so if it's not Jean, then... who?" Sasha asked curiously.

Eren flushed anew, opting to glare at the table. This was so much easier when Armin figured it all out himself.

"Why are you brats so curious?" Levi asked expressionlessly, taking pity on his mate.

"Sir, aren't _you_ curious?"

Levi could hear Mikasa biting back a snort on his left. He shot a glare her way and she just looked at him blankly. The Captain rolled his eyes, looking straight at Sasha, not a trace of shame in his voice as he answered, "Not especially, no." Now he was pretty sure that was Jean who snorted. From the corner of his eyes he could see Eren's mouth twitch and Mikasa pull her scarf further up. Even Armin's face twisted as if he was trying not to laugh.

On the other hand, Sasha's face fell and Connie came to her aid immediately. "Could it be, sir... that you already know?"

Now Levi raised an eyebrow at them. "Indeed I do but why should I tell you?" He was positive Armin's face was going to explode if he held himself back any longer.

"You can't keep this to yourself, we are your squad!" Reiner added and if Levi wasn't enjoying making fun of them, he would have already sent them to clean the stables for being so damn insolent.

"Oh but I can and you have no right to tell me what to do," the alpha said in a low voice and took great pleasure in how they all shrank away.

"It's not your business, though, right sir? If Eren wants to tell them," Mikasa muttered, eyes dancing with amusement and Levi could only roll his own eyes at her.

As if on cue, the attention returned to Eren and he was once again bombarded with questions. He made sure to give both Levi and Mikasa a good kick under the table, as they deserved it, but immediately followed it with a pleading look.

Mikasa only stared at him, shaking her head a little with a small smirk on her lips. This was their issue. They brought it upon themselves and had to be the ones to deal with it and though her jab at the Captain was a little misplaced as he had as much right to the information as Eren did, it rang true for her. It really wasn't her place to tell.

The omega gave up on her, instead turning the whole attention of his puppy eyes to his mate. He wasn't sure if it would work as his success rate with this tactic was about 50% but he could try.

They eyed each other for a while, in the end leading a whole silent conversation between the two of them.

Armin stared at them in fascination and wondered if that was a mate thing or if it was just something the two of them did. It was kind of beautiful how they could read each other.

In the end Eren nodded in response to Levi's shrug and turned towards the squad with determination, Levi watching on with his typical stoic expression.

The boy once again took a deep breath before starting his explanation, everyone listening attentively to what the omega has to say. "Captain Levi was the first one to know there was a child growing within me. Of course he did, since he's the one who put in there."

There was silence for a long, terribly long minute before everyone moved at once. They all scrambled as far away from them as the room allowed, gawking at them with jaws on the floor.

Eren chuckled nervously and Levi rolled his eyes, Jean following suit, trying to act like he didn't act in a similar way upon first finding out about Eren's condition, while Mikasa and Armin exchanged an amused look.

It took a long time to calm everyone's panic and explain how that was possible.

In the end, Levi even had to rip off his cravat in a fit of frustration and show them his mating mark, a teeth shaped, aggressively white scar on his neck, proving him to be a mated alpha, when they refused to believe them.

Eren groaned at the memories of the evening's events, squeezing his eyes shut. Why did the worst memories always return to you when you were trying to sleep?

He was glad it was over and done with, and hopefully never to be repeated in any way. At least he got a hug from Krista from it. Not that he was all that excited about it, however, the jealous glares from both Ymir and Reiner, _and_ Levi, were empowering.

He smiled as he thought of the possessive kiss he got as soon as they were alone. Finally a good memory to fall asleep to.

* * *

 **A/N:** Just a heads up as I can't guarantee next week's chapter. I have two essays and a presentation due on Monday and another essay due by the end of November. Needless to say, I haven't started any one of those things sooooo... ┐(￣ヮ￣)┌


	13. A Little Bundle of Interlude

**A/N:** (Anyone still reading this fic?)  
This chapter is really short and I'm sorry about that but I felt wrong to add anything more...  
Anway, I thought it was about time for some insight into how the dynamics work in this verse. I hope it doesn't seem too forced ^^;;

* * *

While Eren was tossing around, fruitlessly trying to fall asleep resulting in Levi _gently_ kicking him off the bed and banishing him to his own room unless he stopped, other people weren't even trying to sleep.

Jean was on his third cup of strong tea in the kitchen when the sound of hesitant footsteps coming from the mess hall startled him from the daze he had been in. He stared at the door with wide eyes as it slowly opened and a blond had popped in, tired eyes warily scanning the suspiciously not-dark room. Blue and brown eyes met and both Jean and Armin let out a sigh of relief.

Neither of them said anything, Armin only gesturing towards the kettle standing on the stove with questioning eyes to which Jean only shook his head, Armin nodding in understanding back. Only when newly steeped tea filled both their cups and Armin sat opposite of Jean at the small table, did they speak.

"Couldn't sleep?"

"What did you..."

"Sorry!"

"Sorry, continue please."

They stared at each other for a second before chuckling as Armin gestured for Jean to continue.

"Sorry, I was just wondering what you thought about the meeting."

Armin looked towards the small window with a contemplative frown, thinking how best to word his answer, while Jean sat there patiently, playing with the cup in his hands in the meantime. Finally, Armin spoke slowly, carefully. "I think... I think everyone reacted exactly how I expected them to." He let out a heavy sigh. "I hoped the shock might make them crack their mask and let something slip but I didn't see anything."

"I suppose they're really good, huh?" Jean muttered bitterly and Armin gave him a wry smile in return.

"Well, they've been playing their roles for almost five and a half years. They gotta have it down to perfect by now."

They were silent for a while, each lost in their own thoughts.

"But didn't you think Krista was suspicious? She didn't seem at all surprised Eren was pregnant; more like she knew since the beginning?"

Armin shook his head with a small laugh. "Jean, now you're just acting desperate." He got an annoyed growl in return and though Jean's alpha traits weren't fully developed yet, he still stopped laughing immediately on instinct. "Ahem. I don't think it's that weird. Krista is a girl and on top of that not as stupid and oblivious as the others. How many things do you think can cause someone to be sick in the morning and otherwise be completely fine, and for no one to make fuss about it as if it were completely normal?" the blond beta shrugged.

Jean thought about it for a minute, finding it to be a reasonable explanation. He slumped in his chair, rubbing his face with his hands. "Well, what now, though?"

Armin sighed, mimicking the young alpha and slumping in his own chair, grabbing his mug tightly. "What else can we do? We have to wait. Sooner or later they are going to either slip up or make their move. If we are ready for it, we can catch them."

"What if we can't?" Jean questioned with frustration. "They are freaking _titans,_ Armin! And we don't even know who they are!"

Armin immediately straightened in his chair. "We have to," he said with cold determination in his unwavering voice. "We might not know for sure but we have an idea who they are. We have no choice but find the proof and catch them. We can't let the Annie incident repeat itself!"

Jean stared at the blond for a while, completely taken aback by the sudden fierceness of the typically meek beta.

"Wow, Armin, you've been spending too much time with Erwin lately."

The both of them jumped at the cackle coming from the direction of the door as they didn't notice anyone approaching. However, there Hanji was, laughing as usual, yet with messed up hair and circles under her eyes worse than Captain Levi's.

"You look like hell," Jean blurted out without thinking before slapping a hand over his mouth when he realized who he was talking to.

Nonetheless, Hanji only laughed, waving a hand dismissively, as she grabbed the teapot still standing on the table and helped herself to a cup before flopping down next to Armin tiredly.

"Umm, if I may ask, how long have you been awake?" Armin asked uncertainly.

"This is my second all-nighter in a row!" Hanji stated proudly in response, much to both boys' horror.

"Squad leader, with all due respect, go the hell to sleep!" Jean cried, still in shock.

"You're worried about me?" Hanji cooed teasingly while grinning widely. "But this is normal for me you know? Researchers have to make sacrifices," she winked, which didn't help easing the boys' concerns at all.

She laughed at their expressions before chugging the whole mug in one go. She immediately went to refill it but in her sleep-deprived state almost spilled the lukewarm drink everywhere. Armin only shook his head, resigned to watching his superior struggle not to fall asleep, but Jean wasn't ready to give up, yet.

"I'm serious, Squad leader. For your own good. Go to sleep." He said sternly.

Armin gaped at his friend, while Hanji blinked a few times at him before her face split in a wide grin once again. "Are you trying to dominate me, Mr. Kirstein?"

Jean blushed furiously at the observation.

The Squad leader made a noise as if she just witnessed the cutest thing in the world happening right in front of her. "Aww, but Jean! You're still just a baby as far as your dynamic goes. There's no way you can dominate anyone but some weak, extremely weak beta child."

Jean blushed harder as Armin was using his hand to muffle his laughter.

Hanji raised a finger in a lecturing manner. "You should know alphas mature pretty slowly compared to the other dynamics. So do try not to pull this act with other alphas or you'll get eaten, okay?"

Jean nodded reluctantly with a pout and Hanji smiled in satisfaction.

Armin was frowning slightly while the silence lasted before he asked, "Hanji, I was wondering... What even is this 'alpha dominance'? We are taught the differences between dynamics but no one ever explains how it works, it's just taken as a fact... The dynamics themselves, too. Like, we can tell what dynamic someone is as soon as we meet them but I never understood how?"

Hanji smiled sadly. "Yeah, that's one unfortunate thing about our education system. In fact, I learned about it just recently as well. Only after Eren's... situation, actually. I figured I knew too little to be off any help so I asked Moblit to look into it. But I couldn't exactly tell him to just look up omegan pregnancy, so he read up on everything." Hanji paused, shrugging.

Armin and even Jean now stared at her in anticipation. It never occurred to Jean but now that he heard the question, he couldn't help but wonder.

Hanji relished in the fact that for once someone was listening to her rambling intently. She was used to everyone running away in fear every time she started as even she knew she tended to, let's say, get carried away in her excitement. The brunette beta took in the boys' curious faces and smiled to herself lightly before continuing. "The dynamics' bodies are all built a little bit differently. It's more subtle than male-female, obviously. The differences are mostly in our physiology and hormones." She paused to chuckle. "If you don't count the male omegan pregnancy and female alpha's ability to impregnate, of course."

"So what about how we can distinct between us so naturally?" Jean questioned when Hanji paused again.

"Easy. Pheromones."

Both of the boys frowned, exchanging a glance.

"But... No one smells like anything to me? Unless they are sweaty as hell or something," Jean muttered in wonder.

Armin nodded in agreement. "Yeah. I knew Mikasa and Eren pretty much my whole life and I never, I don't know, smelled a difference between them but I always knew they were alpha and omega?"

Hanji nodded enthusiastically, a manic grin plastered on her tired face. "Exactly! You can't smell it consciously since our noses aren't as developed, but the brain still recognizes and analyzes the subtle smells on subconscious level!"

"And the 'alpha dominance' is the same?"

Hanji grinned at Armin for catching on. "Yup. When alphas want to show others who's boss, they release pheromones that for others mean danger and to keep in line. Of course unless you are a fully mature alpha as well, then it just screams 'challenge'. And it's not like the alphas themselves even realize this, they do it unconsciously, automatically. Like the pheromones act based on emotion only."

The boys hummed and nodded in understanding.

"Oh, but," Hanji perked up after a while, remembering some other interesting info, "apparently when omegas are pregnant, they also constantly release pheromones. That's why everyone they come across feels the need to protect and help them. Isn't that cool?"

For some reason, Jean let out a sigh of relief which earned him a weird look from Hanji. Armin smirked though, deciding to elaborate. "He was worried he was starting to actually _care_ about Eren."

"Ah," Hanji smirked in understanding. "So he thinks now he can hide he's worried and protective of him behind the effects of Eren's pheromones."

Armin nodded solemnly and Jean wanted to throw something at them both. Unfortunately, Hanji was still his superior and the only throwable things around were their cups and the teapot, so Jean only opted for a dirty look for Armin, which was returned with a cheeky wink.

They set in comfortable silence before Jean decided he'd had enough. He finished his tea, depositing the mug in the sink, before turning sternly at the other two. "I'm going to sleep. You two should as well. _You_ especially, Squad leader."

Both Armin and Hanji cooed at the cute attempt at acting like the boss. Jean glared at them before angrily marching away. Hanji wondered whether Jean was reaching the age when he would start attempting to challenge the "pack alpha" so to speak. He was still too young; his pheromones not yet strong enough to actually assert any kind of actual dominance, but young alphas had to start somewhere to hone their inborn leadership abilities.

They both kept smiling until they heard the door to the mess hall slam closed maybe a little louder than was necessary. The two betas shared a look before bursting into snickers. It took them a while to calm down but when they did, Hanji started staring at Armin intently. So intently in fact that Armin started squirming in his seat, not sure what this was about.

It was about a minute before Hanji finally opened her mouth to speak. "Hey, Armin," she said, uncharacteristically serious. "How is it that you know about Erwin's plans more than even Mike?"

Armin stilled immediately, staring at the brown-haired scientist with wide eyes. "Umm..."

"You don't have to tell me anything you can't," Hanji elaborated immediately. "That's not why I'm asking. I'm just so used to Erwin keeping everything to himself. We all are." She paused to rub at her burning eyes and sighed. "I was just wondering. How did that happen? Why does he trust you so much?"

Armin looked down at his hands, not saying anything for a long time. The whole time Hanji was waiting patiently, sipping at her cold tea, occasionally humming to herself to not let the awkwardness settle in.

She just about started to think Armin wouldn't tell her anything when the boy finally spoke up, "I was suspicious of some people in Captain Levi's squad."

Hanji abruptly stopped humming and gave her whole attention to Armin, who was sitting there, looking even smaller then he normally was. She didn't say anything though, letting the young beta talk as he felt comfortable with.

"Actually... I was suspicious of them for a while but I had no proof. But with the current situation..." he paused, heaving a big sigh to compose himself. "I just couldn't risk putting Eren or the... other one in danger. So I went to Commander Erwin. I knew he was likely suspicious of the whole squad, or probably our whole graduation group, honestly. Who wouldn't be, after Annie, right?" Armin shrugged, trying not to sound too bitter at the memory, and daring an uncertain glance at Hanji who only smiled encouragingly. So Armin continued to speak. "I figured he didn't know much about the members and how we interact so I thought I'd tell him what I can. The Commander agreed to check the background of the people I suspected and after confirming that I was right, he somehow, for some for me unfathomable reason, decided to tell me about his other findings and plans."

"He decided you were trustworthy and a great help, Armin. That is not weird," Hanji filled in the silence when Armin stopped short again. "You sound like you can't understand how it happened yourself. And you know what? Eren and Mikasa are right."

Armin looked at her with his head cocked to the side in a questioning manner and Hanji could only smile. "You really should believe in yourself more. You are really smart; you are a brilliant strategist from what I gather _and_ you kept up with all my research without any prior knowledge. Not many people can do that."

Armin blushed at the prize but Hanji wasn't done yet.

"And you know, Erwin is probably the best judge of character you'll ever meet. If he decided to trust you so easily, it means something."

Armin scoffed at that. "It could only mean that I am so weak I am no threat."

Hanji laughed. "You can feign weakness, Armin. Quite easily so. Or you can even be weak for real but that doesn't disqualify you as a spy."

Armin didn't say anything to that, letting what Hanji said sink in. He still didn't really believe her but it felt good to hear it, nonetheless.

Silence enveloped the kitchen after that, each of them trapped in their own thoughts.

That was how the people on kitchen duty found them in the morning, completely passed out at the table in what had to be the most uncomfortable positions known to man.

* * *

 **A/N:** I'm really sorry about the shortness and lateness of this chapter. Real life happened and it will continue happening for the next two weeks. (If you still want me,) I hope to be fully back the week before Christmas, by Christmas at the latest. (Wish me luck...)


	14. A Little Bundle of Alpha

**A/N:** *raises from the ashes* "I live!"

Sorry, I'm so late. I'm a terrible human being. (I was exhausted after finals and then got caught up in re-awakened Higurashi feels and new jigsaw puzzle and... Yeah, I don't really have a legit excuse. OTL )

* * *

Days went by, then weeks. By then Eren was completely forbidden from hand-to-hand combat and excessive physical training, his activities limited mostly to experiments with Hanji, an occasional 3DMG course, and cleaning. Eren wasn't exactly happy about this but he had to admit the combat training was getting awkward anyway, with everyone refusing to touch him, their instincts screaming at them to protect, not attack. It was a frustrating experience for all parties involved.

But at least the experiments were getting interesting results and Eren was eager to learn more. Especially after the one time when Hanji wanted to try how his titan was able to protect Eren now in his condition. The experiment was simple. Hanji tried to simulate the situation he and his friends were in during the battle of Trost, when the omega partially transformed to protect the three of them from the canons.

Eren thought it was ridiculous and wouldn't work when Hanji announced he was to protect himself from... pebbles. Pebbles that Hanji would be tossing at him instead of cannon balls. Levi was face-palming in the background as Eren gaped at the scientist who only shrugged, explaining she didn't want to risk hurting him.

Eren suspected even Hanji didn't think it would actually bring any results and was only goofing around but he complied anyway, much to the beta's joy.

"Ready, Eren?" Hanji called from a distance with a wide, toothy grin, a pebble in her hand ready to be tossed.

The omega sighed before he raised his left hand to his mouth. "Ready," he called back after a second.

"Good. Here I, goooo!" Hanji screamed the last part excitedly as she took aim and threw the little stone with more force than the omega expected.

Eren quickly bit into his hand, "Protect" being the only thought on his mind. To everyone's honest surprise, there was a giant explosion and suddenly everything was engulfed in steam.

Hanji and Levi shared a disbelieving look but their heads immediately snapped back in Eren's direction, Levi running off right then, when they heard the shifter cry out in pain.

When the officers were close enough to see Eren through the steam, they couldn't believe their eyes. There was Eren, seemingly completely alright, rubbing his head with a disgruntled expression. He shot Hanji a dirty look when he noticed her. "You didn't have to aim so damn precisely..."

Hanji laughed, partially in relief that the boy was okay, partially at the look on his face and the hilarity of the situation in general. Her laughter trailed off quickly, though, when she realized what she was actually looking at. Then it was all jumping around screaming with joy and theories and fascination.

It appeared Eren didn't transform to protect himself; hence the stone to the head. No; he transformed to protect the baby. Be it consciously or subconsciously, it happened and the result was... disgusting to say the least, as he was apparently desperate to protect his child and so created a dense shield of mashed up meat and broken bones, all growing out of his arm.

Levi couldn't tear his eyes away from the horrifying picture and only his expression made Eren look down too. What he saw startled him enough to accidentally pull his arm out of the lump of meat, much to Hanji's horror.

It was undeniably an interesting discovery that aroused everyone's curiosity but Eren still shuddered at the memory.

"Eren, are you okay? You're trembling; are you cold? Do you need anything?"

The omega blinked a few times at the potatoes he was peeling before looking dumbfounded at Connie, who seemed on the verge of panic. There were a few seconds of silence interrupted only by Ymir's condescending snort.

"Connie... I'm pregnant, not terminally sick or something," Eren stated slowly before shaking his head and sending Connie back to cooking.

The squad was currently on kitchen duty, preparing lunch; or at least most of them were as Jean was dragged away by Hanji for some reason after a hushed, apparently top secret discussion with Armin, and Mikasa was off "bonding" with Levi – which meant they were at the training grounds beating the shit out of each other.

And then of course there was Ymir. The girl was lounging at the table, making fun of everyone, not doing anything and giving the impression of kitchen duty being below her. Krista tried making her stop with the comments at least several times with no result, but everyone was already used to it and only ignored her when her comments were aimed at them, or laughed when they were aimed at the others. No one was actually even upset about her goofing off as they all knew the truth. Ymir had been collectively banned by her squad mates from any and all kitchen activities while still in training as she had an impeccable talent to make everything inedible by just looking at it. Krista tried helping her cook once, observing her every move, telling her what to do exactly, step-by-step. It didn't help. They were all better off with her being her lazy, snarky self in the corner.

Reiner's booming laughter resonated in the kitchen at Connie's mumble of "I was just worried, no need to be so mean."

"You should know preggies are sensitive to being coddled; they like to take everything personally," the blond buffy beta said loudly while slapping his dejected friend on the shoulder.

Eren could only roll his eyes in annoyance. Did he have to be so _loud_ all the time?

As if reading his thoughts, Krista walked over to Reiner and scowled at him, an uncharacteristically stern expression on her face. "Reiner, can you be any louder? You know that's a secret and there would be a load of trouble for everyone if someone hears!" she scolded in her soft, melodic voice. The petite blond huffed, giving Reiner one more warning glare before stomping off.

Reiner gazed after her star struck, mumbling quietly, "She's so perfect even when she's angry; I'm going to marry her." Everyone snickered, turning back to their work, Sasha using the opportunity to try and steal some food. Krista shared a look with Eren that was as exasperated as it was apologetic, not noticing Reiner unconsciously moving towards her in a daze. Eren saw him though, and got ready to throw a potato peal at his friend to wake him up.

But then, everyone froze not moving a muscle, only Eren jumping immediately into a protective fighting stance.

Just as suddenly as the tension appeared, it disappeared again. Everyone relaxed and looked around in confusion, not comprehending what could have just happened.

Only a moment later did it hit them. Angry alpha. Angry alpha saying wordlessly ' _stop_ before you get seriously _hurt'_. The only problem was... there weren't any alphas in the vicinity; only betas and Eren, an omega.

The squad shared wide eyed looks, looking around in scared confusion, even Ymir breaking her stoic expression and lazy posture, actually taking her feet off the table and straightening up with a frown. "What the _hell_ was that?"

No one was able to give her an answer.

* * *

A few hours later Eren lay with his head in Levi's lap, staring absently into the ceiling.

Levi had been watching him for a while, letting his mate think whatever was bothering him on his own terms but his curiosity was getting the better of him.

"Did anything happen today?" he questioned softly, running a hand through the omega's brown hair.

Levi felt more than heard Eren sigh before their eyes connected and Eren shrugged, frowning all the while. "I don't... I'm not sure."

Levi raised an eyebrow, cocking his head to the side. "What does that even mean?"

Eren shook his head to clear it. "It's like... It was so quick I'm not sure it even happened. But everyone felt it so it had to happen. But then, it doesn't make any sense."

" _You're_ not making any sense right now."

"Eren groaned, rolling over to bury his face in his mate's shirt. After a while he finally started mumbling, trying to explain. "While we were preparing lunch, for a second it felt like there was a really angry alpha."

"They didn't try to attack you, did they?" Levi interrupted, suddenly angry himself.

"What? No. I told you, it was only for a second. But more importantly, and that's what's so weird about it..." Eren paused, rolling back over, his frown deepening. "There wasn't any alpha around. It was just the squad there but Jean was with Hanji or wherever and Mikasa was with you. No alpha."

Now Levi was frowning as well, but before he could say anything, Eren continued.

"Moreover, now that I think about it, it was a really strong feeling, stronger than what Mikasa or Jean could cause. It was an adult alpha."

Levi hummed deep in thought. "Maybe someone was passing by the window? Or through the mess hall?"

The omega shook his head again. "When we looked, the mess hall was empty. We didn't hear anything either."

"And the window?"

Eren bit his lip in thought. "I don't know. Maybe? But still I don't think... it was gone really fast, too fast for someone going... I really don't know..."

The alpha started scratching the other's head gently in an effort to calm him down, sensing his growing distress. "I'll talk to Erwin about it and we'll look into it, sounds good, kid?"

"You're terrible at comforting," Eren accused despite the smile that appeared on his face.

Levi could only click his tongue. "Well, I'm a soldier, not a fucking therapist."

Eren's smile grew even bigger at that as he watched his mate's face turn into a scowl. "I know. I don't want a therapist anyway; power and orders are more of my thing."

Levi stared expressionlessly down at his lap for a few seconds, watching as the last sentence slowly sunk in for Eren and he started turning redder and redder as a result.

Levi rolled his eyes dramatically with a smirk on his face, ruffling the other's hair as he hid his face behind his hands in complete embarrassment.

Levi let Eren suffer in peace and returned to his work soon after that. It was almost time for afternoon training when Eren broke the silence again. "I think I shouldn't have stopped training completely."

"Why so?" Levi asked without looking up.

"I think I'm getting fat."

Levi almost broke the pen in his hand in surprise. His head snapped in Eren's direction but the boy wasn't facing him, still lying on the couch where he left him. "You're not getting fat," Levi stated flatly. He couldn't believe they were actually having this conversation.

"Am too. Didn't you notice? I'm losing my abs."

Levi was silent for a long time contemplating whether he should laugh, face-palm or jump out the window. He opted for neither, instead saying in a carefully measured voice, "Didn't it occur to you, that maybe, just maybe, purely theoretically, that might have _something_ to do with the fact there is a fucking _baby_ growing in there?"

Eren's head popped up over the armrest, a scowl on his face. "No need to be sarcastic."

"You were saying stupid shit. Sarcasm seemed like an appropriate reaction."

The young omega huffed, plopping back down, his head now hanging down from the side of the couch so he was watching Levi upside down, his hair creating a messy halo around his head. Levi dreaded what he would look like once he was up straight again. He didn't keep a hair brush in his office so he could only hope they wouldn't run into anyone before they do get a brush or walls know what they might think.

"By the way," Eren spoke up again, "while we're on the subject, Hanji keeps asking me for us to let her name the baby."

"Over my dead body."

"That's what I told her. Well, not in those words, but basically; yeah."

Levi raised an eyebrow. "Then why did you feel the need to bring it up?"

"Because she won't stop asking and I don't know how else I should tell her no without straight up telling her no," Eren half-whined, half-groaned.

"Then just tell her to fuck off. I don't see the problem," Levi retorted matter-of-factly.

The omega gasped, sitting up properly to fully convey how horrified by the idea he was. Levi was sadly proven right as his hair looked every bit as just-fucked as the alpha feared. "I can't do that, she's my superior!"

The alpha rolled his eyes. "She won't give a shit."

"Well I do! I can't talk like that to my superiors!"

"You talk like that to me all the time."

"Only when were alone, in private situations, like, when I talk to you as my mate and not as my Captain! Hanji is not... I can't do that with her!" Eren looked more and more scandalized by the second.

"Then tell her you're quoting me or whatever. Or don't and listen to her whine. Your choice."

Eren glared at Levi for a moment before he huffed and left, slamming the door behind him. Levi only shook his head in amusement before he went back to planning the training regimen for the squad for the next week.

* * *

Armin was pretty sure he was going to be late for training and would have to face the consequences if he was really going to do this now. But he thought about it during lunch and the after-lunch free time and he had to see Hanji and confirm his theory. And if his patience had anything to say about it, he had to see her as soon as possible or he was going to wonder about it the whole time during training, end up being distracted and getting extra laps anyway so what was the harm? He just had to be quick about it.

The beta took a deep breath before knocking loudly at the door to Hanji's lab. To his surprise, it wasn't Hanji who answered the door, but rather Moblit.

"Oh, Armin, what did you need?"

"Ah, umm, is Squad leader Hanji here?" Armin asked nervously. He didn't expect this development.

Moblit smiled apologetically. "I'm sorry but no. Squad leader left right after lunch on some business in town. She should be back by this evening."

"Oh..." the blond slumped dejectedly, resigning to having to wait.

"What did you need? Can I help you instead?" Moblit questioned, hoping to be of help to the bright young soldier, who suddenly looked so down.

Armin smiled sadly, shaking his head. "No, it's okay. I'll wait for Squad leader to come back. Thank..." Armin trailed off, before his eyes suddenly lit up, and his whole being perked up noticeably. "Actually, maybe you can! Han- Squad leader Hanji mentioned it was you who did most of the research on the dynamics, is that right?"

Moblit blinked several times, taken aback by the sudden burst of energy emitting from the blond beta. "Well... yes that's true."

"Great! Can I ask you about something?"

"Co-Come in, then." Moblit stepped back, making room for Armin to slip in, still not quite comprehending what just happened, but happy nonetheless. Finally someone who appreciates his qualities as more than just Squad leader Hanji's damage controller.

After he closed the door, Moblit went over to sit down on one of the chairs by the lab table, gesturing for Armin to sit next to him. Once they were both comfortable, the brown haired beta prompted, "So, what did you want to know?"

Armin tucked one of his blond locks behind an ear before starting to explain as vaguely as he could. "So, I was just wondering, how we can tell someone's dynamic, that's the pheromones, right?"

"Yeah, basically." Moblit nodded in agreement. "Of course there are some physical signs as well but those can be misleading."

Armin hummed, taking a second to think about his next words. "Then... is it possible for someone to give off pheromones of other dynamic then is their own?"

Moblit cocked his head to the side in confusion before answering slowly, "No, that's impossible. There have been reported some cases of people with mixed dynamic but they emitted pheromones of both those dynamics at once. Those cases are extremely rare, though, and the affected individuals had also obvious physical and mental development problems. In fact I think only one of them lived past her tenth birthday."

Armin made a sound of surprise and obvious interest. He had to stop himself from asking about it further as he had more pressing issues to focus on. "Okay, in that case would it be possible to cover your dynamic?"

"Well..." Moblit rubbed his chin, deep in thought. "Theoretically, if you knew about how the base of dynamic detection is in pheromones, it might be possible. There is the possibility of operation and taking out the scent glands but that would be highly dangerous and probably leave an ugly scar even if it _were_ successful."

"And is there any other way?" Armin prompted, basically balancing at the edge of his seat.

"Maybe some kind of perfume that would be able to cover the scent? But it would either have to be developed very specifically to disguise that one person's dynamic, which would be difficult, or be very, very strong." The assistant scientist scrunched up his nose at the prospect of there being a perfume smelling strong enough to cover person's pheromones. They would probably stink up miles around them.

Armin grinned, getting to the core of his questioning. "So, theoretically speaking, it might be possible, if difficult, to make it so that a person seems like one dynamic but is actually another?"

Moblit frowned. "Theoretically, yes. But I can't imagine how much research and effort one would have to put into that. Or why they would even want to do that."

Armin wanted to scream in victory. He was right! However, he glanced at the clock hanging on the wall instead before jumping up, and running for the door. If he hurried, he might make it to training just in the nick of time. "Thanks, Moblit! You were a great help! I appreciate it!" he called hastily before sprinting down the hall towards the back exit.

Moblit was left there completely dumbfounded, still staring at the spot occupied by Armin just seconds before. "What was this even about...?" he mumbled to himself, shaking his head in disbelief.

* * *

 **A/N:** Is it too obvious what this was about? Okay. Sorry.

Shout out to Moblit, the Captain of the underrated SnK characters!


	15. A Little Bundle of Panic

"Levi!" Eren called softly, yet urgently. Levi only groaned in response, burying his face deeper into Eren's pillow, circling his arms around his mate's middle to drag him close again.

"Levi, we have to get up!"

"No we don't," Levi mumbled in response, sleep dripping from his voice.

"Yes we do! It's late! Almost lunch! Mikasa even came looking for us."

"It's a fucking day _off_ ; I don't have to do shit. Erwin isn't even here; who would even bitch at us?" Levi cracked open an eye to glare at Eren. "Just go back to sleep." And his eye fell shut again.

Eren shook his alpha insistently. "Levi, seriously; it's gonna be suspicious," he whined. "And what if someone needs to talk to you?"

"I'm not in charge, Mike is. Everyone can go eat shit."

Eren looked down incredulously. He couldn't believe how lazy his mate had become as soon as the Commander was away. Suddenly he felt something yank at him and he found himself blinking into Levi's chest a split second later.

"Just go to sleep." It was probably meant to sound like an order but muffled by sleep and Eren's hair it came out more like a sigh.

Finally, Eren couldn't find it in him to fight him anymore. He only hoped no one other than those in the know noticed they were both nowhere to be found and missing meals in the process. A few minutes later Eren was almost asleep again, snuggled into his alpha who was long gone as well.

But then a creak came from the door leading into the basement and before Eren could panic and shove Levi from the bed in a vain effort to hide him, down came Hanji's voice, "I hope you're not having sex 'cause I'm coming down."

Eren groaned internally, while Levi groaned externally. "Go the _fuck_ away, Four eyes. I get _one_ full night of sleep but then all these shitty people keep waking me _up_." His growl was getting more and more aggressive with every word. Even Eren felt the need to cower.

Hanji actually looked and sounded apologetic when she spoke up next. "I'm really sorry but I need to talk to you. A message came from Erwin, there seems to be a problem with the higher ups in the capital. They want to talk to me and Eren. That means you have to come, too, Levi. I'm really sorry, but we have to leave as soon as we can."

Eren felt his stomach twist with fear. What happened? Did they find a hole in Hanji's reports?

He only calmed down when he felt Levi's hand in his hair. The silent reminder that he wasn't alone was enough to ease him completely and suddenly he felt more annoyed than anything. The capital was so _far._

He heard the alpha sigh in relief at the calmed rush of emotion from his mate before sitting up. Levi was pissed. It's been a while since his last day off _and_ he could actually normally sleep for once without staring into the ceiling for hours on end and then the pigs from the capital decide to ruin it. As if he hadn't hated them enough before. They always ruin everything. He'd bet even the fucking titans were their fault somehow.

"Okay, you're up now," Hanji started matter-of-factly. "Just in case; before we leave, we need to get our stories straight."

Eren's brows scrunched up in confusion. "Stories?"

Hanji nodded as Levi got up from the bed and headed for Eren's dresser, where he had half of his own clothes stored, and started changing. "Yeah. We don't know why they're calling us up there but we have to be prepared for the questions and you don't have any idea what I wrote into the reports."

"Oh." Eren scratched the back of his head awkwardly. "What should I say then?"

"If they ask you whether you're pregnant, deny it."

Eren rolled his eyes, throwing a pillow at his mate. "I know that! I'm not stupid; I'm not letting them touch them!" he snapped in irritation.

Levi shrugged, tossing the pillow that completely missed its mark right back.

"Right. Levi, I know you're nervous, but-"

"I'm _not_ nervous, Hanji," Levi glared at her over his shoulder while shrugging into his shirt.

"Of course not," Hanji noted, giving him a look when the alpha 'tched' over the realization he buttoned the shirt wrong. Hanji decided not to comment for her own safety. "But don't rile Eren up too because of it. We all need to be calm and not all of us have your damn poker face."

"Are you sure it's not _you_ who is nervous?"

"Okay!" came a loud voice from upstairs and all three of them startled, looking like a group of some especially dumb titans. Armin snorted at the sight as he closed the door after himself and Mikasa. When the three of them realized who it was, they relaxed, Eren heaving a huge sigh and falling backwards to land on his bed. He had enough surprise entrances today to last him until next year.

When the cadets came down, each carrying a tray with what looked like lunch, Armin gave them all a look. "I don't know what's going on, and excuse me if I seem rude, but you all seem kind of on edge. Take three deep breaths and you can start again."

Eren groaned from his resigned position. "Don't scare me like that, haven't you heard of knocking? And why are you here, Mikasa just left."

Armin exchanged a look with Mikasa, who then answered for him. "When I did leave, and that was almost an hour ago, by the way," Eren frowned at this information. He didn't think he fell asleep at all before Hanji came, but there was no way this much time passed otherwise. "I told you it was almost lunch time but you didn't come anyway, so we figured we'd bring you something to eat," she mumbled, trying to bury her face into her scarf even though she had her hands full. Then she glared. "And we knocked. _Several times,_ in fact."

Armin looked around the room, taking in the fact that Hanji was dressed in her uniform and Captain Levi was gathering a set of 3DMG straps that looked a bit too big to be his, and was on his way to be in uniform as well. He frowned, putting the tray in his hands down next to where Mikasa had put it on the table, and asked, "So what happened? Isn't it a day off for you, too, sir?"

The Captain tossed the 3DMG in Eren's general direction before announcing in a resigned voice, "We've been summoned to the capital."

Armin gasped as Mikasa shot a glance at her brother and then his mate. "Did they..." she let her question fade out.

Hanji gave her a wry smile. "No idea and that's the problem. Would be easier if we knew we should better run, honestly," she sighed heavily, taking off her glasses to rub at her eyes. "But honestly, I don't think so. I had Moblit look through our reports and he didn't say anything, so I doubt the idiots up there noticed we were making it all up."

Mikasa hid behind her scarf while Armin bit his lip. "Can we go as well?"

Eren shot up at the innocent question from his best friend, eyes wide with alarm. Luckily, before he could protest, Levi beat him to it. "No," he said sternly, giving Mikasa an especially hard glare since she looked like she would fight him over it. "You can't go because one, we don't need any more people stressing out. Two, in case we need to run, the less people the better. Three, I need people I trust here."

Levi got four surprised looks in return for his speech but he only stared impassively back. Finally, Eren asked, "Why do you need people here? Isn't Mike here?"

Levi rolled his eyes.

"If there is someone waiting for an opportunity and realizes all the biggest threats, the Captain, the Commander, Eren and even Squad leader Hanji, are gone, they are probably going to take action," mumbled Armin, surprising everyone. "But if there are such people, they would be after Eren; I don't think they're going to make a move in this situation," he continued, looking up, but then he realized everyone was staring at him and listening in wonder. Immediately a blush appeared on the beta's face as he visibly shrunk away.

There were a few seconds of silence before Levi shrugged. "You can never be too sure. And as I said, the less people, the easier the run. And if we are to run, the more people we have on the inside, the better as well."

"You are so pessimistic," Hanji muttered into the following silence. Levi folded his arms in front of him, rolling his eyes, and suddenly the heavy, solemn atmosphere was broken.

Eren cleared his throat before speaking, "Hanji, you wanted to coordinate our answers?"

"Right," she clapped, jumping at the change of topic. "You two can have your lunch while we're talking, so we can save time. So as for tests we've been supposedly running..."

* * *

It was only an hour later when they actually set out for the ride to the capital. Not only did Hanji have so much stuff to tell them that Eren doubted he'd remember half of it were someone to question him about it, but Levi also refused to leave without a shower. Sure, he was quick about it, but in the end it held them up good fifteen minutes since he had to go upstairs to his room for his things, then to the showers and back to his room. Luckily they didn't have to hunt down the squad since Armin and Mikasa happened to stumble into the commotion by themselves. It was a day off. Finding anyone but the poor person in charge was a challenge.

There were only the three of them going and they were in a hurry to catch the postponed meeting so they took their horses instead of a carriage. It was faster and honestly, all three of them were far more comfortable on horseback than sitting in some shaking carriage. As soon as they left the castle premises, Eren started feeling anxious. For some reason he had a feeling something was going to happen every minute now and judging from how fidgety the other two looked, he wasn't alone in this uncomfortable feeling. Of course, in the alpha's case that could be caused by Eren's own nervousness getting carried over through the bond but Eren thought that was unlikely. Their bond was kind of dull in this area and the omega was pretty sure his unease wasn't strong enough. But he was convinced something was wrong. Something was going to happen and he just hoped all four of them would come out of it unharmed.

However, despite his worry, not a single thing happened on the way. They arrived in Mitras safely, without any incident, within four hours, although their horses didn't look like they appreciated this record time. More so, when Erwin met them at the Military police headquarters after they got there only to sheepishly relay to them the big shots were "tired after the long morning business talks" so the meeting they were called for was pushed back to tomorrow either way.

When the three heard this, they looked at each other, and Eren swore he could hear Levi's teeth grinding, then at their panting horses.

"Well, I'm glad these tired sweeties can't understand us," Hanji chuckled awkwardly. "I'd bet they would be pretty pissed otherwise."

Levi grumbled in response, "No shit. I'm pissed enough and I didn't run all the way here. Those pigs better hope I take a really good shit or I'm going to fucking murder them tomorrow."

Eren felt his hand twitch as he suppressed the need to touch his mate to help calm his anger. _That_ would be a bad idea considering their whereabouts. Instead he affectionately patted his horse in praise, promising her quietly to come and feed her and her friends some really good treats for their vain effort.

Suddenly, he felt _something_ run through him, an emotion that didn't belong to him and that was gone so fast he couldn't identify it. He stood up straight, feeling his neck crack with how fast he looked at his mate. The alpha wasn't looking at him but he was definitely standing closer to him than before, moreover in a slightly defensive stance. Eren quickly scanned the courtyard they were standing in for threats but they were virtually alone, the only people in sight being the two obviously bored guards at the entrance who weren't paying them any attention.

"Levi?" Eren asked quietly, worrying at his lower lip. He didn't understand what was going on.

His mate ignored him though, instead addressing Erwin in an icy tone, "So we're spending the night."

Erwin looked like he had to force down a sigh, knowing it would only agitate the Captain further. "We would have to either way, Levi." He said carefully, calmly.

"Where is Eren sleeping?" he was positively growling now.

Eren went rigid at the realization and they could hear Hanji's sharp intake of breath. Obviously this problem hadn't occurred to her either.

Erwin shot an apologetic look at Eren before he answered clearly, "In one of the basement cells." He visibly flinched and Eren could only imagine Levi's eyes were glowing now. He really wanted to grab his mate's hand now, or better yet, kiss him in assurance, however, as things were, the omega could only hope Levi wouldn't do anything reckless.

Their Commander quickly spoke up, trying to placate the furious alpha. "But I managed to convince them he didn't need guards and I don't think it will be difficult to arrange for you to have the keys and be the one to pick him up tomorrow." He lowered his voice into an almost whisper, "It's an isolated cell, so you can have some time to settle down together."

Eren couldn't say he was completely happy about it but it was probably the best they'd be able to get. He was supposed to sleep in the basement, chained, in their own headquarters as well, after all. He shot the tall blond a grateful smile for his efforts. "Thank you, sir. We- ahem. I appreciate it." He could almost feel Levi rolling his eyes.

Erwin smiled slightly back before nodding towards the small stables for temporary stay. "Tie your horses by the entrance, I'll tell Nile to send someone to properly take care of them. I need to debrief you about today."

The three of them saluted, although Levi still looked ready to rip his superior's head off, and strode away together. In a few paces Hanji caught up with Eren, speaking in a low voice, "Do you think you can spend the night separately?"

They could hear Levi snort a mirthless laugh as Eren gave her a smile. "Of course, don't worry. We won't be that far away; still in the same building. It won't be the most comfortable sleep but it shouldn't be a problem."

"Are you sure?" the beta wasn't convinced. "With every passing week the need to stay together should be getting stronger. When was the last time you were further than fifty meters apart?"

"We'll be _fine_ , Hanji," Levi snapped at her, while aggressively tying up his horse by the water canister, apparently still very much annoyed.

Eren sighed, but nodded in agreement. "Yeah, Hanji, promise." He paused before muttering to himself, resigned, "Not like we have much choice anyway."

Hanji shot them both a sad, guilty look; as if it was her fault. They were pointedly not looking at her, pretending to be busy checking on their horses. Hanji couldn't help but notice how they obviously gravitated towards each other, standing closer than necessary, trying to soak up the other's presence.

She hoped they were right and they would be alright in the morning, able to properly face whatever was awaiting them tomorrow.

* * *

 **A/N:** Sorry, I'm late again ㅠ.ㅠ

And I honestly don't know how I feel about this chapter... So much ereri, so little plot...


	16. A Little Bundle of Separation

Eren promised Hanji they would be fine but only thirty minutes after Levi locked the door to Eren's "bedroom" the omega started to feel it. At first it was only a slight restlessness, but as minutes went by, the silence of the basement started to overwhelm Eren, only making him focus on the raising anxiety.

He sighed. It was going to be a long night.

* * *

Levi was pacing around his room, itching to run to his mate and protect him. Of course he knew Eren was safe, probably safer than he was if he were to be honest, but that knowledge wasn't enough for the bond. His instincts were screaming at him to go find Eren right this second. How dare he leave his mate's side while he is pregnant with his own child? What an excuse for an alpha he was.

Levi shook his head to clear it. No, he was protecting Eren by leaving his side. He knew he was. Didn't make the anger or the anxiety go away. Moreover, the fact he wasn't even sure whether the anxiety was his own or Eren's didn't help any, either.

When his pacing got interrupted by a sharp knock on the door, he positively snarled, ready to rip whoever dared to come to him right now apart. He threw the door open with more force than needed, causing the cadet behind it to jump back in surprise.

"Captain Levi, sir!" the girl squeaked, saluting quickly. Levi didn't move or say anything to acknowledge her so she continued. "I just wanted to ask if you have everything you-" she stopped abruptly when she finally took a good look at the Captain.

Levi suspected his eyes were glowing, what with his need to grip the door with such a force that his knuckles hurt only to keep himself from doing something stupid, but the terrified shudder that ran through the Military Policewoman made him wonder just how exactly he seemed to her right now.

Levi continued to glare at her without moving a muscle as she stood there frozen, probably too scared to move. They were only waiting for something to happen and shatter the fragile state of stillness.

Levi thanked his lucky star the thing to happen was Hanji walking out of Erwin's room with a troubled expression on her face. She stopped in her tracks when she noticed them, assessing the situation remarkably quickly.

She let out an awkward laugh, causing the girl to jump once again. "Oh, girl, you'd do better not bothering Levi right now; he's always terribly grumpy after long travels. But don't worry, he'll be all better after sleeping for a bit," she said with fake cheer to her voice, grabbing the girl by her shoulders and leading her away a little too forcefully to be considered friendly rather than hurried. Levi watched from his rigid position, halfway relieved, halfway fighting more aggression at the new arrival.

Thankfully, Hanji was used to closely dealing with both Levi and titans so she wasn't _that_ phased. As soon as she ushered the shaken girl away, she ran back, pushing Levi back inside his room and shutting the door behind them. She let him go immediately after and backed off as far away from the alpha as she could before he could so much as growl at her.

"Levi, she's gone; it's okay. Breathe," she said in an even, soothing voice and waited.

After a while Levi's posture relaxed slightly and he groaned, rubbing his face in frustration.

Hanji took it as a sign that everything was okay now. She snickered, although the sound sounded more strained than amused. "So you're going to be _fine_ , hm?"

Levi shot her a glare. "Well, what did you expect from us. To admit we can't be away from each other because there is a fucking bond between us that won't let us since I apparently gotta protect my unborn child or whatever?" Levi snapped, maybe a bit louder than was advised.

Hanji gave him a sympathetic smile. "Sorry, I know. Do you want me to stay with you?"

The alpha sighed, shaking his head. "No. Wouldn't want to accidentally kill you in the middle of the night." Even Levi had to admit his attempt at sarcasm failed miserably.

Hanji snorted, heading for the door. "If you need anything, I'm right here. Erwin is, too." She waited until Levi nodded stiffly before slipping through the door and shutting it carefully behind her again.

Once she was gone, Levi threw himself on the bed, staring blankly at the white ceiling. He now felt a slight amount of worry as well. He didn't mean to get so agitated that Eren could feel it. He didn't want to worry his mate more than necessary.

He sighed. It was going to be a long night.

* * *

Unbeknownst to those in the capital, Levi wasn't the only one pacing nervously at the time. Back in Survey corps' headquarters, Mikasa was stalking around the kitchen while Armin sat at the table with a cup of tea, several papers spread in front of him as he mumbled to himself inaudibly, making a note here and there, frowning in concentration.

"Armin, how can you be so calm," she finally snapped and Armin didn't even raise his head as he answered her.

"Do I look calm to you?" he paused to circle something on one of his papers. "We're just coping differently. Maybe you should go for a run or ask someone to spar with you."

"Goddamn it," Mikasa growled, taking several angry steps to do just that but almost ran into Jean in the doorway.

They blinked a few times at each other before the female alpha took a step back to let the other enter.

She looked at Jean curiously, deciding to stay for a bit longer. She was on edge right now but she could still tell something was suspicious about this. No one came to the kitchen this late.

Jean shot an uncertain look at Mikasa before sitting across from Armin. He tried to whisper, for Mikasa not to hear, but in the completely silent room the girl understood him perfectly anyway. "What did you want to talk about, Armin?"

The beta looked up, giving Jean an exasperated look. "Seriously Jean, I hope to the Walls you will learn how to be sneaky before stuff really starts going down."

Jean was about to protest but the look Armin gave him was enough to shut him up. Honestly, he knew himself he was terrible at this. But he didn't exactly volunteer for this secret spy position. And it was just Mikasa!

The young alpha jumped at the sound of door slamming closed and the steps that followed. A shadow loomed over him and he knew by instinct things were about to go bad.

Hands smacked down on the table and the look on Mikasa's face was indescribably scary. She stared directly at Jean and despite himself, the other alpha felt himself shrinking away. "You have been extremely suspicious lately. Disappearing without explanation, talking with Hanji and the Commander in whispers. Now this. Spill Jean. What do you know."

Jean sent a pleading look Armin's way and only started breathing again when the blond sighed and reached out to grab Mikasa's shoulder. "Mikasa, leave him be. He doesn't know much anyway."

Mikasa immediately turned her glare at her friend. "What are you hiding from me, Armin?"

Her voice sent a wave of shivers down his spine. He really didn't like dealing with angry Mikasa. Dealing with Eren was way easier. "I'm sorry; I didn't want to worry you. But I was meaning to tell you, I swear! Even against the Commander's orders!"

Mikasa narrowed her eyes suspiciously, not completely believing the blond beta. "Tell me _now_ then," she ordered and Armin saw no other choice but to tell Mikasa about the traitors within their midst – and about the fact he suspected that there was also an alpha disguising as a beta.

Mikasa looked murderous when he finished. "Who are they, Armin. Tell me right now."

"I can't," Armin hissed back. "We aren't even one hundred percent sure about them. We don't have any evidence! I hate to say it, but we need to wait until they make their move."

"Are you telling me to put Eren in danger?" Mikasa sneered, folding her arms across her chest. "Armin, don't make me kill _all_ of them."

"Mikasa!" Armin shouted, his chair clattering to the floor as he shot up to his feet.

Mikasa stood there in complete shock, even Jean was gaping. They've never seen Armin shout at anyone when trying to get a point across.

That didn't stop Armin, though he did lower his voice to make sure the conversation stayed between the three of them. "Weren't you listening to me? There is someone with ties to the royal family. And we have _no idea_ what this tie is. If they are a royal spy or really anything but an outcasted family shame and something happens to them, what do you think the Military Police will do?" Armin took several deep breaths before continuing in his tirade. "The first thing will be arresting you as the culprit. Then the Commander, the Captain... probably all the officers. Do you think in such a case Eren would come out _unscathed?_ "

Mikasa looked positively shaken, hiding behind her scarf. By then and Armin finally stopped. He picked up his chair and sat down quietly. There was a long stretch of silence.

"I'm sorry," Mikasa and Armin spoke up at the same time. They looked at each other before laughing awkwardly.

Jean relaxed as the immediate danger was averted. He cleared his throat. "So, I suppose you called me here about the alpha business?"

Armin nodded, glancing tiredly at his papers. "Yeah, I thought you should know."

Mikasa got herself a glass of water before joining the two at the table. "How many people know anyway?" she asked curiously.

"Well, about the... outsiders, it's just the Commander, Squad Leaders Hanji and Mike, me, Jean, and now you. As for the alpha," Armin shrugged with a sigh, "everyone who was there plus whoever they told. Provided that they realized what happened or believed it happened. It was really gone too fast."

"So the whole squad?"

Armin nodded, "Yeah. Captain Levi probably included. I can't imagine Eren didn't tell him."

Jean thought for a second before speaking up, "So unless Sasha, Connie and Reiner didn't realize, we can count on the whole Corps knowing by the end of the week. And if the Captain knows, the Commander probably does, too."

"Pretty much," Armin agreed. But honestly, he wasn't sure whether that was a good or bad thing. The alpha would take more care about not revealing themselves and that on one hand meant they would be difficult to find, but on the other, they would lay low and wouldn't make any rash moves. That gave them more time.

They didn't even know if the alpha was one of the enemies they were already hunting for, the one with the royal ties, or someone completely different. And why bother hiding they are an alpha anyway?

Armin dropped his head on the table. Were there even any normal, actual soldiers in their squad beside the three of them in this kitchen? And why was the situation only getting more and more complicated?

* * *

Not surprisingly, Eren couldn't get a wink of sleep. And judging from the coming and going waves of anger, Levi couldn't either. And so, the early morning found Eren fully dressed in his uniform and sitting on the edge of his bed, staring a hole into the locked door.

Just as the sun was starting to raise, finally Eren's ears picked up the sound of carefully measured steps, the pull of the bond easing with every second. Eren's heartbeat sped up as the door to the basement opened and closed again, the person resuming their careful walk. Eren didn't dare move until Levi came into view on the other side of the bars, looking haggard with his hair a mess, and without all doubt blissfully alone.

The omega sagged with relief, leaning forward and hiding his face in his hands, taking a deep breath and listening to the sound of his mate impatiently trying to open the door to the cell. He almost wanted to laugh at how frustrated with the lock was the alpha becoming.

Finally the Captain threw the door open and took several hurried steps, engulfing his omega in a tight embrace as soon as he was close enough and burying his face in the other's hair. Eren clutched right back, happy his mate was beside him again at last.

They stayed in this position for a long time, trying their hardest to calm down after the rough night. When Levi moved, it was only with great reluctance and not far away at all. He only raised his head from where it rested on top of Eren's and took one of his hand's to put on Eren's cheek, looking him in the eyes. "You okay, brat?"

Eren grinned at the pet name, "Of course, Sir. Yes, Sir."

Levi rolled his eyes but still gave Eren a tender kiss.

When they parted, Eren frowned, now feeling like it was his turn. "Are _you_ okay, though? You look terrible."

The alpha shook his head. "I'm fine, just didn't sleep."

"And didn't go to the showers, yet. Seriously, are you okay?"

"Perfect," he replied sarcastically. "At least I can escort you to the showers so the shitheads here aren't that scared if they happen to come in while you're there and not be bored just sitting there."

"Fair point," Eren laughed. "But are you going to be able to keep your hands to yourself?" he added in a suggestive whisper.

Levi narrowed his eyes, "Are you fucking shitting me, Eren?" he growled. "We're in the middle of enemy territory, trying our best to not get found out and get one or three of us killed, and you suggest something like this?"

The omega at least had the decency to blush. "I'm sorry! I don't why but I suddenly feel really horny! Sorry!"

Levi chuckled at Eren fumbling, horrified by his own suicidal suggestion. "Don't worry; I think Hanji said something like this happens, something about the omega trying to keep their mate from abandoning them or whatever." He paused, shaking his head as he muttered to himself, "As if someone would want to abandon their mate. Or as if the bond would let them."

Eren groaned, hiding his face in Levi's hard stomach, causing his next words to come out muffled. "Can we just stay like this a little longer?"

"Of course," Levi answered softly, running his hands through his mate's hair.

* * *

The two mates successfully managed to go for a morning run and take a shower without incident. Since they ventured out so soon and since the police were generally lazy, they didn't even run into anyone until breakfast and thus avoided any weird bathroom confrontations or awkward hiding of Levi's mating mark. Honestly, Levi thought their morning was going a little too calmly.

The mess hall was almost empty when they arrived but even so, or maybe because of that, they got some stares. They were sort of intruders there, after all, and if that in itself wasn't enough, they were Humanity's strongest and Humanity's last hope, or better known as "The Monster". Levi gritted his teeth and forced himself to ignore the whispers. It wouldn't exactly do to beat anyone up for bad mouthing the kid he was supposed to kill at a moment's notice.

They sat down at a random table, talking to each other quietly until Hanji joined them a few minutes later, complaining loudly about how terrible beds they have here. Levi didn't sleep but he did lie on his bed for some periods of time and he was pretty sure it was way better than the one he had at their castle. He had no idea what Hanji was trying to achieve by lying about this.

He shook his head when he noticed Eren giving Hanji a compassionate look. Of course Eren believed her. The beta leaned her chin on the table, looking at her favorite mated pair critically. "You two look like shit," she stated flatly.

Levi only snorted humorlessly while Eren smiled wryly. "Nervous I guess," the omega lied through his teeth, all too aware of where they were right now.

Hanji gave him a sad smile but said nothing. They continued sitting in silence, watching as more and more people turned up for breakfast. Soon there was almost nowhere to sit, but their table stayed glaringly empty beside to them. Hanji wondered why. Out loud.

"Hanji," came a warning voice from behind and the three of them looked up to see Erwin right along with Nile. The Commanders ignored Hanji's pout and sat down at the table, continuing to discuss whatever they were discussing. The Commander arriving was apparently some kind of signal around here bacause soon after several cadets came to their table carrying plates with food and putting one in front of each of them and as soon as that was done, the other soldiers started to get their own food as well.

Eren frowned at how weird things worked at the Military Police and then frowned deeper when he looked at his plate. There was so much food. Food he hadn't even _seen_ since Wall Maria fell. He gritted his teeth, anger rising inside him. The omega proceeded to eat more aggressively then was maybe necessary for a breakfast.

* * *

The meeting finally took place about an hour after breakfast. The four of them were led inside a big, fancy room with an ornate table and comfortable-looking, plush chairs. Several nobles, or fat pigs, as Levi described them to Eren beforehand, were sprawling in those, glasses of what looked like wine in front of each of them. There were four chairs on the opposite side of these nobles, where the Survey corps soldiers were supposed to sit. Nile Dawk sat down after them as well, taking his seat next to the nobles.

With the empty spaces on either side of the four of them, Eren felt like he was on trial again.

"Let's cut to the chase, shall we?" started Nile heavily. "We have received an anonymous letter several days ago. In the letter the writer has informed us..."

Eren went stiff and he could feel cold sweat running down his back.

"...that Eren Jaeger is supposedly pregnant."

* * *

 **A/N:** Drama, drama...

(This is completely unrelated but I need help. I started writing an Ereri Harry Potter AU - or maybe more like a crossover - and I would feel much better if someone with a clear idea of British English proofread it for me when it's done. My English largly comes from the internet and as such the borders between British and American E. are kind of blurry... ^^;; If you can help me and are willing to do me a huge favour, please, contact me on chenziee . tumblr. com or here. I will love you forever.)


	17. A Little Bundle of Crisis

**A/N:** Does "I forgot what day it was" count as an excuse for posting a day late...?

* * *

 _In the letter, the writer has informed us that Eren Jaeger is supposedly pregnant._

The sentence seemed to echo around the room. Eren's vision blurred momentarily and he had to force his hands to stay still and not cover his stomach protectively. Levi immediately went to grab for his blades but luckily, Erwin was faster when his own hand shot out to grab Levi's under the table.

All of them jerked as they heard some soldiers come up behind them. A second later Eren felt a cool metal on his throat and he froze in terror. Both Levi and Hanji stood up, furious. Eren looked at his alpha with wide eyes, assured when he saw the other was more than ready to save him, yet praying no one else noticed the fierce glow promising a painful death to anyone who tried to touch his omega.

"What is the meaning of this?" asked Erwin, his voice as calm as ever even with the icy, angry undertones.

Nile smiled humorlessly, shaking his head. "Just a precaution, nothing to worry about. Now, let me ask you some questions."

Nile shuffled around with his papers and the four watched him carefully. Hanji slowly sat down, leaning her elbows on the table and folding her hands in front of her face. Levi didn't follow her, still standing on high alert, however careful to cover his eyes with his longer hair.

"I'll ask you straight," the Commander looked up with his question. "Is it true?"

Eren opened his mouth but no sound came out. Thankfully, Hanji spoke up for him bitterly, unintentionally covering for his mistake. "As if you'd believe him, whatever his answer may be."

"I didn't ask you, Squad leader."

Hanji scowled but said nothing more. The attention turned back to Eren, who prayed his voice wouldn't waver. "It's not, Sir," he said clearly.

Nile nodded, taking a note. "Well, we can't take your word for it."

Hanji snorted in sarcastic, humorless amusement. No one else said anything.

Nile picked up a stack of papers that looked like medical records, looking through them quickly. "Squad leader Zoe, these are your reports on Eren Jaeger's health over the past two months. Can you guarantee these are correct?"

"Yes," Hanji bit out without hesitation. Eren admired her ability to lie so easily.

"Can you tell me what these say?"

Hanji sighed but complied nonetheless. "Last two months? Let's see, that would be everything within norm besides the slight cold from last month, and two weeks back he passed out from exhaustion caused by too many experiments. My bad."

"Suspicious she remembers so well," one of the nobles said, not even bothering to keep himself quiet.

Even Nile Dawk shook his head, knowing first hand Erwin's researcher tended to get a bit obsessed. Hanji raised an eyebrow and stated in a challenging voice, "I can tell you about every single test I ran on Eren since we got custody of him. Actually, I could probably tell you about every experiment I ran on the titans since the beginning as well and in detail. Complete with the dates and exact numbers."

The noble looked like he wanted to test her but Erwin, knowing full well how out of hand Hanji could get with these topics, intervened, "If you wish to test Squad leader Zoe's memory, I have nothing against it but please, leave it for after this issue has been resolved."

"I agree," Nile jumped at the opportunity to avert a catastrophe, having fallen victim to Hanji's titan rants once. "So Squad leader," Hanji slowly turned back towards him, looking slightly disappointed, "you are saying you agree with Eren Jaeger's statement of not being pregnant."

"Yes."

"Can you tell me when his last heat was?"

Hanji cocked her head to the side in confusion. "Four months ago. What does that have to do with this?"

Eren couldn't help but frown, fully agreeing with Hanji. Not to mention that was a pretty intrusive and highly personal question.

"He's an omega," some noble said as if it explained everything. Eren blinked, not comprehending.

"You don't say," growled Levi, which got him a warning look from Erwin.

"We are aware of that but I don't understand your implications, sir," Hanji rephrased Levi's biting remark with suppressed venom. She had a feeling where this was heading and she didn't like it; Levi and Eren would like it even less.

The noble gave them a condescending look as the other nobles snickered. Levi wanted to slaughter them already. "He was in heat four months ago and we all know that's the time omegas get pregnant. It isn't far-fetched to say he seduced some innocent soldier to satisfy his... _needs_ and ended up with a spawn as a result. Omegas get very _forceful_ during heats," he said with a disgusting, lecherous smirk.

Eren couldn't even say anything. He only gaped at the guy with his mouth hanging open. Never in his life has he ever heard something as ridiculous as this. He felt Levi jerk as he stood next to him, a wave of anger accompanying the motion. Eren badly wanted to grab his hand to calm him down.

Hanji snorted, the sound evolving into full-blown laughter. All present looked at her as if she went crazy, but she only continued to laugh. "Putting..." she gasped. "Putting aside the fact that most omegan pregnancies happen out of their heats... _Never_ in my life have I seen an omega in heat throwing themselves on some random guy _just_ because they are in heat. This is hilarious."

She continued laughing until Levi added his opinion since her distraction calmed him down considerably. "Has this disgusting idea come to you because the prostitutes in the underground throw themselves at you when you pigs go there? Because news flash, they _live_ from pretend-" his voice grew more and more disgusted with every word until Erwin stopped him.

" _Levi!_ That's enough. You either shut up or leave. Now."

That silenced him immediately. The small alpha folded his arms in front of him and took a deep breath.

Erwin continued, trying to fix the situation to the best of his ability. "I assure you, Captain Levi will be punished accordingly for his insolence later. You have my word," that seemed to calm the red-faced, angry nobles down somewhat, though not completely. "However, I have to agree with Squad leader Zoe. Omega heats aren't usually strong enough to make them lose reason and they never change their behavior because of it. Honestly, I personally have never noticed Cadet Jaeger being in heat."

By then Hanji stopped laughing, only wiping her tears, adding to Erwin's speech. "Yeah, if I wasn't asking Eren about any changes constantly and seeing his hormones in action in his blood first hand, I wouldn't have any idea either. Really, the only difference it makes is that more alphas turn to look after him when he passes. And he might be a bit horny but nothing to be concerned about."

Silence followed Hanji's and Erwin's statements until Nile Dawk cleared his throat, addressing Eren directly, "Eren Jaeger, can you tell us exactly how your heat affects you?"

Eren immediately turned bright red. What exactly did these people think they were asking him about? He didn't ask them about their masturbation habits, why did _they_ have to? "Uhm, well..." his head dropped in embarrassment but immediately shot up again as he came face to face with the bright steel of a blade. He cleared his throat, looking anywhere but the people present. "Well, it comes every six months and lasts about two weeks. As Squad leader Zoe said, during that time my... sex drive might be a little more... active... but... Honestly, I try to ignore it when that happens because, as a soldier on active duty, it's really more annoying and inconvenient than anything and I hate the times. It distracts me from focusing on training and the Squad leader's experiments."

Hanji leaned over, practically lying across Erwin's lap to pat him on the arm sympathetically with a cheeky grin while Erwin tried to shove her off of him.

"There you have it. No seduction. The brat is a perfect fucking soldier, focused only on his mission. No way has he enough space in his shitty little brain to think about sex," Levi said bluntly and Eren would feel offended were he not currently dying of mortification.

"If omegas, or alphas for that matter, couldn't control themselves for any given periods of time, they wouldn't even be let in the military," reasoned Erwin further.

"Well," concluded Nile, glancing at the clock. "Be is as it may, we have to consider the possibility. I have notified Supreme Commander Zackley and there will be a hearing tomorrow. In the meantime, Eren Jaeger will be sent back to his cell and sometime in the afternoon one of our doctors will arrive to make our own tests to see who is telling the truth. Now this meeting is dismissed."

The soldiers standing behind Eren grabbed him by his elbows, forcing him to stand up and starting to drag him out. Eren immediately started struggling in panic. "Hey, let go of me!"

Levi immediately stood in the doorway with a furious expression. "He is not a fucking prisoner. He is still a soldier of the Survey Corps and you will let him go right fucking now."

The soldiers hesitated, looking at their Commander for instructions, as Eren gave Levi a grateful look.

Erwin quickly spoke up, "We agree to have Eren stay in the basement but Captain Levi is still in charge of him and I believe he is right; I have never heard anything about him being arrested. So we are very much against this treatment."

Nile and Erwin stared each other down for a moment before Nile sighed, nodding. "Let him go," he told his guards who immediately complied. Eren quickly took two steps away from them as soon as their grip loosened enough.

Levi turned around, opening the door out. "Come with me, Eren."

"Yes, sir!" Eren said, saluting to the people still in the room before quickly running after his Captain, Hanji and Erwin following after him.

"If he isn't present later, we will conclude him running away and you all guilty of aiding his escape!" Nile called after them.

The Survey Corps ignored him, heading straight for the basement.

"What are we going to do?" Eren asked, gripping Levi's hand where they sat next to each other on Eren's bed, while Erwin was sitting on the chair outside the cell, obviously deep in thought, and Hanji paced around the cell in agitation.

"I don't know, Eren; I don't know!" Hanji said, sounding on the verge of hysterics.

Levi squeezed Eren's hand tighter.

* * *

It was hours later, in the early evening when the doctor arrived in Eren's cell. He was obviously scared to even touch the shifter, much less proceed with any examinations, and Erwin was talking to him, seeing if they could somehow work around the problem without raising any suspicion. Levi was leaning against the wall next to Eren's bed now, where Eren himself was sitting nervously.

Suddenly, the light of salvation appeared in the form of a loud commotion upstairs.

* * *

Mikasa was on her way to lunch, worried maybe even more than she had been yesterday. Why weren't they back yet? Did something happen? Did everything go wrong? She was fiddling with her scarf, tugging and rearranging it restlessly. She was jumpy all day, moreover sick of the pitying looks she was getting from the other squad members. Sasha even tried to feed her to help calm down. Their concerns were appreciated but misguided and only made her feel more nervous.

She turned the corner, stopping in her tracks and cocking her head to the side. There were two older soldiers a bit ahead of her, walking slowly and very close to each other, muttering quietly and overall looking extremely suspicious. She didn't let it bother her for long. She was used to the fact Survey corps were full of weird people.

She mentally shrugged, stepping forward again. She neared the two rapidly with the sluggish pace they were maintaining, soon being close enough to overhear.

"So you really did it?" one asked.

"Yeah!" the other whispered proudly.

"Do you think it's going to work? It's easy to prove you were lying..." this one seemed nervous and Mikasa's interest was picked. This didn't seem like a conversation they should be having out in the corridor.

"I doubt they will bother checking. Every single person within these walls is just waiting for the opportunity to have the monster executed."

Mikasa's blood froze. There was only one "monster" they could be talking about.

She saw red. And it wasn't even a metaphor. As soon as the implication of the words sunk in, she was punching the guy so hard she knocked out his teeth. He was taken by surprise, not noticing her behind them, and lost his balance, stumbling to the floor. The alpha girl was on him instantly, grabbing his collar and shaking him so hard his head was hitting the floor. "What did you do?" she growled menacingly, a bit of hysteria coming through. She barely noticed the other guy running away. "What," a punch. "Did," a slam to the floor. "You," another punch. "Do!" a scream. Mikasa actually screamed the last word and the guy covered with blood on the floor was terrified.

"Mikasa!" came a shout from the end of the hallway and Armin came running around the corner a moment later, summoned by her scream. "What happened? What's going on?" He questioned with wide, concerned eyes, trying to understand the situation he was facing.

Mikasa's head snapped in his direction and the beta took a step back at the sight. Her eyes were glowing, an alpha's fury more than evident. On a closer inspection, however, he noticed there was so much fear in there as well and he immediately came closer to drop to his knees beside his friend, ignoring his instincts. He grabbed her torn and bloody hand with his, staring into her eyes unwaveringly. "Mikasa, what happened?"

Finally, a few seconds later, she opened her mouth. "Horses," she said in a hoarse voice. Suddenly, she grabbed both his shoulders, speaking loudly and on the verge of panic. "Armin, horses, now! We have to go to the capital!"

Armin didn't question her. Soon the whole squad, plus one broken, barely conscious soldier, was on their way to the capital, leaving behind a stressed and mostly confused Mike.

* * *

There were shouts and murmurs and people running. Everyone down in the cell looked up towards the entrance in confusion and anticipation. The door opened long minutes later, and in walked a bemused Nile, who, to everyone's surprise, was followed by Armin and Mikasa, who was dragging a beaten Survey Corps soldier behind her.

Everyone stared at them without a word and Nile looked embarrassed and unwilling to say what he had to say. "Looks like," the Commander finally sighed, "the examination won't be necessary after all."

The doctor looked beyond relieved and immediately gathered his things again, running as far away from Eren as he could.

"I sent a message to the Supreme Commander. You are free to leave whenever you see fit," Nile turned around and left, eager to be gone and forget about this whole affair.

The Military police soldiers who were present to oversee the examination shrugged and left as well. Leaving four confused, two beaming and one whimpering soldier behind.

"What...?" Hanji asked, voicing their collective thought and Armin grinned wider.

"You see, this guy here," he said, not-so-gently poking the guy on the floor with his shoe, "thought it would be a genius idea to write a made-up letter to the Military police about how Eren was pregnant. Because obviously Eren has no right to be in the Survey corps and omegas have no business in the military anyway," the beta explained with a disgusted expression, giving the guy another painful poke. "Luckily, he was stupid enough to run his mouth about it in the hallway and Mikasa over-heard him. And even more luckily, I found them before she managed to kill him," he didn't sound like would have regretted it much if Mikasa _did_ kill him.

There was a long silence following his explanation. Eren felt the wave of killing intent spread through him and he wasn't very sure whether it was Levi's or his. It didn't really matter to him either.

However, surprisingly, it was Erwin who snapped first. He strode over to where Mikasa was holding the guy up in a half sitting position effortlessly, gently taking him from her hand and standing him on his legs. Mikasa took a few hurried steps back, sensing she shouldn't be anywhere near just a split second before Erwin's fist collided with the soldier's jaw.

He immediately lost consciousness, falling to the floor gracelessly, no one bothering to catch him.

Erwin sounded just as calm as he always did when he spoke, "This is all the punishment he's getting." Everyone else was about to protest, either verbally or physically, when Erwin continued resolutely. "For now. As soon as we're back, he's all yours, Levi."

"Yes, sir," Levi growled, sounding positively murderous and sending shivers down everyone's spine. They almost felt sorry for the unconscious soldier. Almost.

* * *

 **A/N:** Anticlimatic conclusion is anticlimatic.

Anyone have any tips on what to do when you hit the part of the story where you are sure everything is shit and you're just ruining it even more with every word? Because I'm definitely not in that stage now.


	18. A Little Bundle of Rest

The Commander didn't even need to ask his soldiers to know the Survey Corps would be leaving the Military police headquarters immediately. There was no way either of the others would agree to letting Eren spend another night there – he himself wasn't too keen on the idea anyway. He heard enough from Hanji about the effects the separation had on the two expecting mates and he wasn't about to let his friend and precious subordinate go through it again if he could help it. The only problem was currently at his feet.

Erwin gave the unconscious soldier one last disgusted look before turning around to face the room. "We're leaving as soon as we can. Levi, Hanji, and I will go pack our things and prepare our horses." He waited until the two nodded before addressing Eren's friends, "In the meantime, I'd like to ask the two of you to take care of this soldier. Would be better if he were conscious on the way back."

"We can prepare your horses as well, Sir," noted Mikasa offhandedly as she leaned down and picked the much bigger male up with little effort.

Armin grinned shyly as he elaborated, "Actually..."

* * *

"I still can't believe you guys," Levi said flatly with arms folded on his chest as he stared his squad down. They were grinning back at him proudly, standing in the yard with all horses fully prepared for the ride back.

Eren was dutifully standing two steps behind his alpha while suppressing a smile over how self-satisfied his friends looked. When Armin told them they were all there as well, the four couldn't really believe it but after Erwin's dismissal, as they were leaving the basement, they quite literally ran into the others. They were obviously trying to eavesdrop at the door, even with how fast they jumped to attention at the opposite wall. The guilty looks on Sasha, Connie and Bertholdt's faces spoke for themselves. Before any of the officers could scold them, however, Sasha and Krista squealed and ran over to hug Eren, Krista even with relieved tears in her eyes. No one had it in them to tell them off for being worried for the pregnant omega. Erwin only shook his head and left them to go speak with Nile before they left, as Hanji beamed and Levi scowled before sending them off to get the horses.

Now they were all ready to leave, only waiting for Erwin to come out. Eren was getting anxious to leave but it didn't look like a pleasant ride was ahead of them. The longer the Commander took, the darker was the sky getting as the sun was starting to set for the night. It looked like they would be riding in the dark and no one was exactly eager for that experience. The omega caught his Captains eyes as the latter looked back towards the bright orange ball of fire with a frown. Obviously, not even Levi was happy about this development but they silently agreed it was better to ride on horseback in complete dark than to spend another night here.

Finally, about twenty minutes after everyone else gathered, the Commander arrived with a distracted look in his eyes. He shot a quick, almost concerned glance towards Eren before quickly turning his eyes elsewhere. Hanji's eyebrows shot up at the momentary gesture, nonetheless deciding to question the blond alpha later.

Erwin was headed straight for his horse, apparently as ready to leave as everyone else. The soldiers followed his lead and mounted their own horses after giving quick salutes. Only the beaten up beta didn't even react where he was already sitting rigidly in his assigned saddle. His eyes looked a little glazed and it was a question left unanswered whether he was even fully conscious.

The group headed out of the Military police headquarters without any policeman seeing them off, save for Nile Dawk's unreadable gaze following them from the window of his office. They soon left Mitras behind and long before arriving at the gates of Stohess, darkness had completely enveloped them. The sleepy and slightly drunk Garrison soldiers manning the town's gate grumbled at the interruption, only reluctantly letting them through. They wouldn't have any qualms about leaving them outside until morning just because, but in the end, upon the realization they were dealing with Commander Smith and Captain Ackerman, they didn't dare see the tempting idea through.

Everyone was confused when the Commander, instead of continuing straight ahead, took a turn towards the center of the town, leading his soldiers in a leisure pace towards the unknown. Their confusion only continued to rise when a few minutes later Erwin stopped in front of an inn, getting off his horse.

"Erwin? What's going on?" Hanji asked curiously, hopping down as well.

Erwin smiled wryly. "We are going to spend the night here in Stohess. Or do you want to ride back right now, in the dark, without stopping?"

Everyone shook their heads, some of them even sighing in relief. Eren, in particular, felt exhausted. More than he remembered being in years and he was on the verge of tears just hearing the words. He slid down, intending to get off smoothly, but he stumbled as soon as his feet hit the ground and he felt his back hitting his horse. The animal didn't budge at the impact but it did look back at him, nudging its master gently with its nose. Eren smiled fondly, patting it back in assurance.

"Eren, are you okay?" came Mikasa's concerned voice immediately after, in tandem with a worried glance from Levi.

Eren shook his head, failing to flash them a smile in his exhaustion. "Just tired."

He received several more concerned looks but no further questions came for which he was grateful. He really just wanted to curl up in bed and pass out for an hour or thirty.

Erwin ordered them to stay outside while he went to ask about accommodation. As they waited, looking around the street they were on, they realized it probably wasn't as late as they were led to believe on the way. There was still light coming from the windows of more than half the houses on their street, even the entrance to the inn Erwin disappeared into was still brightly shining with the laps hanging around.

They waited only for a short while in silence before Erwin came out with a fake, business smile still on his lips, followed by a young man who didn't look too happy to be there.

"Soldiers, the owner of this inn was gracious enough to let us stay here and even prepare a light dinner for us. There are rooms for two people at a time. Obviously, Levi has to stay with Eren to keep an eye on him," there were several giggles suppressed and glances exchanged, "and I will be staying with Squad leader Hanji, but otherwise you are free to pair up however you want." Immediately, meaningful nudges were had and Levi had to roll his eyes. _Teenagers_. "However," Erwin interrupted loudly, with authority, "I need someone responsible and not likely to kill during sleep to share a room with Marzell here."

Silence followed, no one probably trusted themselves enough not to cause any... damage. Except Ymir. She was just unwilling to leave Krista. Erwin raised an expectant eyebrow when the quiet stretched on.

"I will do it." Everyone looked at Jean in surprise. Even Jean himself looked surprised at what came out of his mouth, but he stared at Erwin with determination anyway. He could do it. He _would_ do it. He would show people he was useful, too.

Erwin nodded curtly in thanks. "Good. Now, you can leave your horses for this young man here to take care of," he gestured towards the grumpy looking man behind him. Everyone looked at him, then their horses uncertainly, but still left them in the care of the inn worker with pats and nodded thanks. Erwin then ushered them inside to get some food and sleep. Everyone was more than happy to oblige their Commander, gulping down the quickly thrown together dinner and, after profoundly thanking the owner, shuffled off to their rooms to sleep. It was an eventful day after all, even for the squad who only had to go to the capital and right back.

The squad had long disappeared before Erwin got up. On his way he leaned down to whisper something into Levi's ear to which the smaller alpha only nodded as he returned to watching his mate eat slowly and carefully. Erwin looked down at them with a complicated expression on his face as he squeezed Levi's shoulder and followed Hanji to their room.

The two mates were the last one's left in the inn's dining room, largely because Eren was eating much slower than usual. Levi supposed it was because he was so tired but then, the weird feeling he was getting from the bond was telling him that was not the only reason. He continued to watch the omega intently, noticing the tiniest things. How tightly he was holding the cutlery. How jerky his movements were, how deeply he was breathing, or how his gaze was firmly fixed at one single point. It was glaringly obvious now that Levi had the time to really pay attention to him. Eren was trying hard not to blow up. Now that everything finally slowed down the excitement that gathered over the past two days finally got to settle in for him, chasing away the exhaustion and leaving just a tangled mess of emotions manifesting in white hot rage.

Levi only hoped they would be alone and in private when he finally snapped.

But now that Eren was done and getting up, there was one thing he needed to get over and done with before retiring to their room. Eren stood there silently next to him, looking at him expectantly when Levi didn't get up as well. Levi just eyed him back silently for a minute before he shook his head and stood up, leading the omega towards the rooms.

As soon as the alpha was sure they were alone in the corridor, he grabbed Eren's hand to stop him. "Erwin asked me stop by his room on the way back."

Something flashed in Eren's eyes at his words, but it was gone too fast for Levi to be able to tell what it was. The force of anger that hit him spoke for itself though and Levi had to suppress a sigh as he prayed to stay calm. "I promise it will be quick. Just a minute, okay?"

Eren nodded, his face blank as he turned around and strode off without a word. But even without the bond Levi would know that wasn't going to turn out good.

He sighed before hurrying to speak to Erwin so he could go to his mate and try and avert the catastrophe that was brewing inside Eren right then. He knocked on the door, not bothering to wait for a response, instead opening the door immediately after.

"Make it quick Erwin, I need to be with Eren."

Hanji was nowhere to be seen but Erwin blinked in surprise, his shirt half off, as he stared back at Levi, both at his sudden appearance and his demeanor. Luckily, he recovered quickly, getting straight to the point upon hearing Levi's request. Or demand, more like. "Levi, you, Eren and Hanji will be staying here for one more day. Maybe one or two people from your squad as well. The two of you need to relax and I think after this you need a break, especially Eren, after all that stress. Which is also the reason Hanji is staying. She wants to check up on Eren and the... other one as soon as possible."

Levi was surprised but he wasn't about to argue. He understood why Erwin was doing this and was grateful, even if the soldier in him bristled a little at the implications. They _were_ expecting a child. The situation wasn't exactly orthodox and he as an alpha also felt the need to keep Eren in place as long as possible. At least until he was sure his omega was calm and ready to face the world again. So he only nodded stiffly. "Anything else?"

Erwin gave him a measured stare before smiling unsettlingly. "Actually yes, but it seems like now isn't a good time. Go back to your mate, Levi, I'll have Hanji tell you tomorrow."

Levi nodded curtly before leaving without second thought.

As soon as the door closed after him, Hanji peaked from around the corner, where the closet was. "Is he gone?"

Erwin chuckled bitterly. "Yeah. You can stop hiding now."

Hanji huffed, running a hand through her lose hair. "Well _excuse_ _me_ that I'm just a poor, normal beta who can't handle it when an alpha like Levi gets so riled up."

Erwin laughed, giving Hanji an amused look. "The best part is, I don't think he even realized he was doing it. You should have seen him, his eyes were glowing more than when I suggested they abort it."

Hanji shuddered. "No thank you. The pheromones were more than enough."

Erwin's smile disappeared fast as he sighed, rubbing his forehead. "I'm only thankful he started only now and not while we were still at the Police headquarters."

"I think he realized on a primal level he couldn't let his involvement be shown unless he wanted to get Eren executed on the spot," said Hanji in response, intrigue evident in her voice. "Either way, I hope they manage to calm each other down over this day you gave them."

"Well, it was pretty much the only reason I had them to stay so I sure hope they do. Otherwise everyone will know and we will have a dead soldier on our hands on top of that."

* * *

Levi took quick steps towards his and Eren's room, absentmindedly noting where the shower was on the way, hoping the omega was okay.

But who was he kidding, he knew Eren was not okay. _Levi_ was not okay. He wanted to kill something, rip it apart and laugh at the blood and guts. But at the same time he wanted to hold Eren, make sure he was safe and warm and _alive._ And still at the same time he was so exhausted he wondered how he was still conscious. But Levi was quite sure he wouldn't be able to fall asleep anyway, even if he were to get the chance within the next half an hour. There was too much going on in his head, still too much uncertainty over his mate and child's safety.

He was sure it was the same for Eren. Neither of them even slept last night and Eren was pregnant on top of that but somehow, Levi knew the other wouldn't go to sleep anytime soon either. No matter he almost fell on his ass just trying to get off his horse. The two of them would be up for a while still.

Suddenly, Levi was glad Hanji would be there tomorrow to look at Eren. Staying up for more than thirty-two hours at a time couldn't he healthy for a three months pregnant person, not to mention the baby.

When Levi's hand came to rest on the door handle to their room, he closed his eyes briefly, praying silently Eren would be there, just sitting quietly on one of the beds and waiting patiently for him. He took a deep breath, pushing the door open.

* * *

 **A/N:** I wrote this chapter over the past week in bursts of 200-400 words at a time so if it seems choppy or weird, that's why... (I also still very much hate the chapter and everything else so feedback/encouragement/kind constructive criticism would be more than appreciated.)

(Does anyone still read this, even...?) Anyway, I'm deeply sorry about the sudden silence. My anxiety's been acting up lately, along with a sever lack of self-confidence, so writing has been very difficult for me these days. And I'm sorry I keep apologizing for being late but if I don't, I will stop trying to keep any semblance of a schedule and this fic will become as good an abandoned so please bear with me... _:(´□`」 ∠):_


	19. A Little Bundle of Anger

**A/N:** A shorter chapter but kind of emotional so... ╮(─▽─)╭

(What did I ever do to deserve you guys? ㅠoㅠ I love you; every single one of you! （´・｀ ） )

* * *

The view that presented itself to Levi was worse than he hoped, yet better than it could be. The alpha quickly slipped into the room and closed the door behind him, avoiding a pillow that came flying at his face in the process. Eren growled angrily at missing his mark.

At least he wasn't screaming and deliberately breaking things.

"Eren," he said in a stern voice, cursing himself for not knowing how to talk soothingly when he needed it most, as he stepped over pillows and blankets strewn across the floor in an attempt to get to his mate.

"What?" Eren barked back with barely held back fury.

Levi walked over slowly, ignoring Eren's burning glare while returning one of his own. "Clam the fuck down," he tried, knowing it wouldn't help any, yet not knowing what else to say.

Eren let out a hysteric giggle, running a hand through his hair. "And what?" his voice was laughing yet void of any form of amusement. "Pretend I'm alright? That I'm not angry? That's bullshit, Levi and you fucking know it!" by the end of his speech he was nearly screaming and Levi took a deep breath to keep himself from reacting the same way.

Eren snorted and made to side-step Levi to go do god knows what but Levi grabbed his wrist firmly before he could take more than two steps. "You're _not_ angry, Eren."

The omega froze turning slowly around to look at his mate incredulously, sarcasm dripping from his words when he spoke next after a few seconds. "I'm not? Than enlighten me, oh great alpha. I think I know pretty damn well how I am feeling and it's nothing _but_ anger!"

Levi grabbed his wrist tighter and suddenly there was a pained expression on his face. It made Eren falter but not enough to break his seething rage. "Eren, did you forget we are _bonded?_ I can feel it, too, for fuck's sake. You feel _anything_ but anger."

"Then tell me; why am I _angry_?" Eren didn't understand what Levi was saying. He only felt uncontrollable anger right now and Levi's denial only made it that much worse. Suddenly he wasn't even angry at the world or the fucker who thought it was so funny to try and get him killed; now he was only angry at his mate. Why didn't he see it? Worse yet, why wasn't he as fucking angry as Eren was? Didn't he care at all?

The omega's glare deepened at his thoughts, the until now faint glow of his eyes intensifying. He tried to free his wrist but Levi's grip was iron. He didn't let go no matter how much Eren struggled.

Levi's own voice was now getting icier as he was getting fed up with this scene. He hated it. Why couldn't they just lie next to each other in bed and go to sleep? Why did they have to fight about bullshit like this? " _Because_ ," he stressed, tugging at Eren's hand for further emphasis, "you react to _everything_ with anger! Anger is the answer for everything to you and you never stop to consider that maybe there might be more efficient ways to dealing with what you feel!"

Eren gaped at him, and for a second it felt like his anger had evaporated, before it was back full force only a second later. He yanked his hand, making use of the element of surprise and finally breaking free from his alpha, instead shoving at his chest, growling fiercely.

"How fucking _dare you_ , Levi! How dare you tell me shit like that when you don't even feel anything? And you call yourself my mate? The father of my child? What a fucking _joke!"_

Levi had to try really, really hard not to snap at Eren, not to punch him. In the end he succeeded only in one of those things. "Oh yeah?" he shouted back, pretty sure his eyes were glowing by then, too. "If you weren't so wrapped up in your supposed anger and took a minute to actually think about what you fucking feel for once in your life, you might actually realize that that boiling fury is not fucking _yours!_ Because guess what? I want nothing more than to go to that fucking room and rip that fucker's head off, feed his body to the crows so it gets torn to tiny shreds and then toss his bones to the underground to the filthy starving dogs and put that disgusting head full of shit on a fucking display to show every fucking piece of shit out there what happens to shits who even _think_ about hurting you! But guess fucking what? I'm not! I'm not there; I'm here, letting you scream at me! Why? Because you are my first fucking priority!"

He closed his eyes, taking fast deep breaths and massaging his temple in an effort to calm down a bit. He didn't say anything more and Eren didn't react to his blowing up either. They stood there in silence so thick they felt like it was suffocating them for a long time, both scared to be the first to break it.

Finally what seemed like hours later, Levi's shoulders sagged as he slowly opened his eyes and what he saw nearly broke his heart. Eren stood in front of him without moving, taking deep, measured breaths as his eyes glistered. They were not glowing anymore but the burning glare was still there, and his fists were clenched so hard Levi wouldn't be surprised to see blood.

The alpha let out a breath before he reached out to press a gentle hand to his mate's cheek. Eren flinched, looking away, but let the other touch him, slowly losing his will and energy to fight. Levi rubbed his thumb across his cheekbone as his fingers buried themselves in the thick, soft, brown hair. After a few more seconds he finally broke the quiet that settled around their room in a soft whisper, softer than he thought he would ever be capable of. "Cry, Eren. You're sad and relieved and tired and scared and yes, you're fucking pissed. So cry. You know you need it."

Levi watched as the first tear broke out of Eren's eyes, slowly trickling down his cheek. It only took a few seconds before the omega was sobbing on his knees on the floor, his head buried in the crook of Levi's neck, the alpha holding him tight with one hand tangled in his hair and the other rubbing his back slowly, letting his mate soak up his uniform with tears and snot.

It took ten minutes of intense crying for Eren to calm down and another ten until Levi was willing to let him go. Even if he was still reluctant to do so, they needed a shower before going to sleep. The alpha took in the look on Eren's face before kissing his forehead gently and getting up, leaving Eren to sit on the floor, dazed and looking like a lost child. Levi swiftly gathered the blankets and pillows from the floor, trying to rid them of dirt before carefully arranging them in a heap on one of the beds in a form of a tiny nest. It was nothing like the one Eren made for himself in Levi's bedroom back at the headquarters – what, with only two pillows and two blankets – but it was better than nothing.

Once he was satisfied with his work, he picked up the bathrobes and towels generously provided by the inn and returned to Eren who only kept looking up at him blankly. He leaned down and picked the boy up, the omega immediately snaking his arms around his neck and pressing his body tightly to the alpha's strong one. Like this they headed to the bathroom several doors down, praying no one would see them.

Levi tried to use his foot to open the door but only succeeded in making noise. Thankfully before he decided to just kick it open, the door opened from the inside. Armin had his tooth brush in his mouth with foam running down to his chin, and an expression of confusion on his face when his eyes fell on his superior carrying his best friend. However, it only took him a second to realize what was going on and made way for them to enter the tiny bathroom with a single shower stall and sink. The blond quickly rinsed his mouth and gathered his things, shooting a concerned look at his Captain before leaving as quietly as he could. Eren didn't even realize he was there, just clinging to his mate as close as he could.

Levi nodded back at Armin in reassurance and silent thanks, before the door closed behind him. He sighed, slowly putting Eren down. The omega let out a soft sound of protest but Levi managed to coax him out of his clothes and under the spray of water in a surprisingly short time. The shock of the cold wetness seemed to finally snap Eren out of the trance he was in after his breakdown and in the end he succeeded in showering by himself, an embarrassed blush slowly appearing on his face. Levi only smiled slightly in comfort, though Eren didn't see it as he was intent on avoiding looking at Levi.

Before they left the shower, Levi grabbed Eren's chin and forced him to look into his eyes. He didn't know what to say, so he only stared back, straight into those greens, hoping the omega would understand. At first the younger was shocked but after a few seconds a tiny smile appeared on his face as he nodded, and Levi let him go with a relieved sigh. They stood there for a few more seconds before they simultaneously leaned forward, kissing each other softly, lovingly, telling each other wordlessly that it was okay. They were okay.

* * *

Back in their room, clean, exhausted but not ready to fall asleep just yet, the mates curled up in their make-shift nest, each caught up in their own thoughts.

Eren's head rested on Levi's shoulder, his fingers tracing his pronounced collarbone as he stared into the darkness of the room. He tried several times to say something but every time he took a deep breath to do so, he only ended up deflating again. Each time this happened, he felt Levis hand around his shoulders squeeze him gently in a gesture saying to take his time. It only made Eren want to say it even more. Finally, on the fifth try, he managed to open him mouth to let out a soft, mumbled, "I'm sorry."

Levi's hand that was tracing absentminded circles on his forearm stilled before the alpha let out a huff. "I should be the one saying that. I shouldn't have said those things."

Eren shook his head as well as he could in his position. "No, I needed to hear it," he muttered, nuzzling closer to his mate. "But I shouldn't have shouted at you. Moreover I said worse things to you than you did to me. I should have known you were stressed just as much as me."

Levi kissed his temple firmly. "It's okay; I know you didn't mean it."

"I'm still sorry."

"So am I."

They fell silent again for a while before Eren propped himself up on his elbow staring down at Levi with a complicated expression on his face. "I love you."

"I love you, too," Levi returned the sentiment in a clear voice, as his lips stretched into a small, crooked smile before he pulled Eren down to press his lips against the other's.

"We should sleep," Eren murmured, their lips still touching.

"I can't," Levi groaned back full of frustration and Eren smirked, throwing one of his legs over his alpha's waist.

"Then we better make the best of it, no?" he grinned before leaning down to nip on the other's neck, right where his mating mark sat proudly.

* * *

Hanji sat with Armin in the inn's dining room, each nursing a cup of tea and chatting with the owner while waiting for Eren and Levi to come down. The others were long gone as it was nearing noon and the two were still asleep. Not that they were surprised or blaming them. The two deserved some actual rest after the events of the past two days.

Hanji wasn't even about to tease them over the fact that she went to check up on them after breakfast only to find them both passed out, naked, Levi's dick still in Eren's ass. She just smiled fondly before covering them with a blanket and left quietly, careful not to wake them.

Finally they heard a door upstairs slam shut and a few minutes later the two of them came down, Levi's hand hovering over the small of Eren's back. Hanji almost squealed. They were just so cute together; she couldn't believe it took her so long to notice. Thank the walls Erwin wasn't there to see it though, as he would only scold them for being too obvious. However, Hanji thought it was only natural for Levi to be a bit more protective right then. There shouldn't be anything to be afraid of, anyway.

"Good morning," Armin said with teasing undertone to his voice.

Levi rolled his eyes at both Armin and Hanji's grins while a blush spread across Eren's cheeks as he smiled and rubbed his neck sheepishly. "Good morning."

"Good morning," said the owner with a kind smile as she got up from the table. "Shall we serve lunch now?"

"L-lunch?" Eren stuttered in shock. He looked at Armin for confirmation and only got another grin in response.

"Yes, lunch, dear," the elderly woman laughed.

Levi nodded, sitting down at the table opposite of Hanji. "Yes, thank you. Could we get some tea as well?"

"Of course, Captain Levi," the owner smiled before disappearing in the kitchen.

Levi grumbled over being recognized but relaxed when he felt Eren's hand brush his shoulder as he passed him to sit down as well.

A few minutes later the owner came back along with a young girl, who seemed like she was helping in the kitchen. They were carrying trays with food and a pot of fresh tea along with two clean cups.

Each of them got a plate with so much food it was ridiculous, but Eren's was the fullest. As the owner put it in front of the young omega, she winked at him in reply to his questioning glance. "An extra large portion for the expecting father."

Eren took a sharp intake of breath just as Levi shot up and two shocked voices cried out.

The owner only chuckled, patting Eren's head and Levi's cheek. "I have three children and seven grandchildren. You can't fool me."

Eren couldn't find his voice. He just stared at the woman smiling kindly down at him before shooting a panicked look at Levi. His mate only stared back, obviously lost for what to do.

"Please..." came Hanji's quiet voice a minute later. "Please, don't tell anyone."

The owner ran a contemplative look over their pleading faces before sighing and smiling again. "I don't know what your circumstances are but if you are so desperate to hide it, I guess it's serious. You have my word; this information won't leave this inn."

The four of them let out a collective sigh of relief, thanking the woman purposefully. She only waved them off, with assurances that a child is always a blessing, no matter whose, and it was her duty to make sure it was safe.

They ate while listening to the owner telling them stories about when her children and grandchildren were young and about her inn and life in Stohess, not quite believing they could get this lucky in their misfortune, yet seeing no reason not to trust this woman.

Well, it wasn't like they had a choice right then anyway.


	20. A Little Bundle of Mother

Right after they ate lunch – Eren practically force fed by the end as his portion was just too big and everyone refused to listen to him – Hanji dragged Eren back upstairs to her and now Armin's room for a quick check up. She didn't have any of her equipment on her but what she could do was still better than nothing at all and she wanted to make sure the forced separation or the other events that transpired had any serious effects on Eren.

While the two of them were gone, Levi and Armin stayed behind in the dining room in what would be an awkward silence if it weren't for the chatty owner. Apparently they were her only guests at the moment and she had nothing better to do than talking their ears off. Levi didn't have the heart to deny her, partly because he found every little piece of information about little children priceless right now as neither he nor Eren actually had any idea what to do with babies, but mostly he felt obligated to do at least this for the old woman after she shared her worries about her business since the visitors to Stohess greatly decreased after the last Survey Corps "visit". She didn't seem like she knew the two titans who wrecked the town appeared because of them – or that one of them was currently pregnant and getting examined in one of her rooms – or if she new, she was definitely not blaming them and the soldiers were grateful for that. Nonetheless, they still felt guilty.

Armin even deeply apologized several times. It _was_ mostly his plan, after all. Maybe he even should have seen through Annie earlier, much earlier maybe, like during training or after Trost, when he saw Marco's gear in her possession.

He couldn't help the guilt even after all these months and countless assurances from his friends.

Eren and Hanji only emerged again just before the sun started setting. The owner went around the room lighting lanterns and illuminating the darkened room with warm softness while Hanji announced Eren seemed perfectly healthy and the omega beamed at the other two. Levi visibly relaxed at that and leaned over to kiss his mate softly while ignoring the old woman cooing at them.

At that moment a loud, forced cough came from the entrance to the dining room.

The soldiers froze as they turned around to come face to face with none other than Commander Nile Dawk who looked about as shocked as they were.

The tension immediately raised as everyone jumped up to protect Eren, Nile reacting instinctively and taking up a defensive position himself. They stood there in icy silence, no one moving a muscle.

All the soldiers jumped when a loud clap resounded in the still room. "I don't know the problem is but there will be no fighting in my inn as long as I'm alive. I'm sure you can talk this out over a nice cup of tea."

"Madam, you don't understand," Levi growled, only moving closer to Eren, who made a sound of displeasure. He was quite done with everyone protecting him these days. However, three voices shushed him immediately.

"Captain Levi is right for once. You don't understand," Nile said, his voice nearly as dangerous as Levi's.

"Nile Dawk, you will listen to your mother and you will be nice to her guests. I don't care about your work a bit so sit your ass down."

Nile visibly hesitated but didn't relax; the owner only huffed and turned to face her gaping guests. "I apologize for my son, he really is a good boy but sometimes he forgets his manners when he's not working. I hope you can excuse his rudeness."

The four Survey Corps' soldiers tensed after being addressed but than breaking out of the stupor they were thrown into, they blinked a few times, glancing in between Nile and the owner.

Finally, Hanji spoke up, "I'm sorry, did you say you're his _mother_?" she asked, jerking her thumb in the Commander's general direction.

The owner smiled warmly at her. "That's right. My oldest son. I suppose you know each other."

The squad leader only nodded mutely, still not fully comprehending what was going on.

It was still a few tense minutes before Levi relaxed his stance and put his dagger away, though his pheromones were still deeply penetrating the air. "Who'd guess the big, bad Military Police Commander was really just a mama's boy?" he said with fake nonchalance, wariness still apparent in his tone of voice.

Nile scoffed as Hanji snickered, joined by the old owner. "He is, isn't he?"

"Mother, please," Nile protested offendedly, however, he was ignored.

"Nile, your mother is old and ready to die. Don't add to her stress and sit down already and be nice. They are lovely people."

Nile scoffed, glaring at the Survey corps angrily. "Why are you still here?"

Hanji finally sat down first, soon followed by Armin who was still shaking a little. The brown haired beta cocked her head to the side in confusion. "Still? Did you know we'd stop here?"

"Yes," Nile nodded, slowly nearing the table as well, but carefully eyeing Levi who refused to move from his protective stance. "I told Erwin this would be the safest place to stop for the night. I just didn't expect you to stay so long. Where is he?"

Hanji frowned, her confusion only growing. "We had..." She groaned in frustration, turning her gaze to the small alpha next to her. "Levi, you're making me nervous! Calm down already!"

Levi had to bite back a growl but after a few seconds he obliged, flopping down to the closest chair and throwing an arm over the backrest. He still dominated the whole room but at least the tension considerably lowered. Eren followed him and slowly sat down as well, nonetheless never taking his eyes from the threat.

Hanji sighed, shaking her head, before she continued, "We had to take care of something. The others, Erwin included, left in the morning already. The four of us are leaving tomorrow. But what do you mean, you told Erwin? Safest?"

Nile looked uncomfortable and for a few seconds looked everywhere other than them. But after a minute it looked like he made up his mind as he got up again, striding over to the door he used to enter and shut them closed resolutely, before joining the others back at the table. Suddenly he looked more like the Commander he was.

"Okay. _Some_ of you," he glared directly at Levi when he said this and the alpha only stared back impassively, "might think I'm stupid. But I'm not blind. Something is going on or you lot wouldn't be so aggressive during the whole affair. I don't know what exactly it is, but I can't help but think the accusation, however fake, wasn't that far off."

There was a collective intake of breath the four tried to hide. Nile only shook his head and continued, "When I add the fact even _I_ felt like I should stop the trial to it, for which I had no reason..."

The omega bit his lip anxiously, exchanging a look with Levi. Nile knew. But why... If he indeed did, why were they here, talking calmly? There was no hostility coming off of Nile; more like resignation if anything. Eren didn't understand.

"I said this to Erwin as well," he sighed. "You're awfully lucky those cadets came when they did. We had to call the whole thing off before it blew up. Since the accusation was proven fake from the culprit's own mouth, we had no real right to push the issue." He paused to rub at his temples, the stress he was under apparent. "And let me tell you, the nobles weren't happy about it. They wanted me to go through with the trial anyway. I refused, saying it was against protocol. They said, and I quote, 'They are the Survey corps and the damn monster, who cares about protocol.'"

Hanji cursed under her breath quietly while Armin stared in horror and Levi's fists clenched angrily. Eren could only make a disgusted face as it didn't exactly surprise him.

"So..." Armin started hesitantly, seemingly deep in thought. "You let us go even though you suspected something was up? Why? Uhm, Sir!" he added quickly, remembering last minute he was talking to a Commander.

Nile gave him a calculating look, staring the scared blond beta up and down. "Don't get me wrong. I didn't do it for you. I just don't have any proof and I value the rules. As opposed to you people," he scoffed, giving them all a look to which Hanji only grinned, obviously taking it as a compliment.

"But you sent us to a safe place for the night..." Armin pressed, too curious to listen to his instincts that were warning him not to push the alpha.

The tall man didn't look pleased at the inquiries and the beta shrunk back at the dirty glare he received, but he didn't relent. Finally, Nile sighed. "I'm against ambushing people in the middle of the night with the intent to kill someone who's only sin so far is existing," he paused for a second before shaking his head dismissively. "Not that I wouldn't feel better if he were dead but..."

He didn't have to say anything explicitly for the others to understand. The nobles were plotting to have some soldiers launch a surprise attack on them and kill Eren – or maybe all of them. Levi's alpha dominance suddenly spiked again accompanied with a growl as his arm stretched to partially shield Eren.

Of course that wasn't a very smart move as the only effect it had was the gears visibly turning in Nile's head as he put two and two together, until his face twisted into a disgusted frown. Of course, Levi couldn't say he cared.

"So that's why..." Hanji mumbled after a moment of silence thoughtfully, for which she received several questioning looks. The beta looked around and upon realizing the others were not following, she elaborated, "This was probably what Erwin wanted to talk to you about yesterday, Levi. After you left, he just told me to be careful and look out for Eren, that he might be in danger. Told me to tell you as well. He was really vague about it, though, and wouldn't tell me anything else, so I just assumed he had a bad feeling or something."

Solemn quiet followed Hanji's explanation until Armin muttered, "He didn't want us to worry."

"Would not worrying be better than going out fucking _blind_?" Levi growled menacingly. Obviously he was angry at his Commander.

Suddenly everyone started looking around, decidedly uncomfortable but unable to detect the reason. However, it only took Levi a second to detect the overwhelming anger that was radiating off of his mate.

Eren, who has until now been suspiciously quiet, was seething. Levi immediately grabbed his hand, which earned them another disgruntled look from Nile. "Eren?"

There were several seconds of silence before the omega abruptly got up, his chair clattering to the floor as he leaned heavily on his hands over the table. "Are you fucking serious?" he bit out though clenched teeth. "I knew people would always be after me but to pull out something like that? They are goddamn cowards!" If it were possible, his eyes would burn a hole into the table as he glared intensely at one spot on it, his head hanging low, refusing to meet anyone's eyes.

"No one ever said people were decent, Eren," Hanji whispered, resigned knowledge in her voice.

"I know!" Eren all but shouted. He had to take several deep breaths as his alpha gripped his forearm assuringly. When he started again, his voice was much more controlled. "I know. I've known since forever; since those scumbags who kidnapped Mikasa and killed her parents. But this... Those people are supposed to be leading the last of humanity and they stoop so low as to attack from behind in the middle of the night." He was angry. Angry at this disgusting world, at those disgusting pigs, at Erwin for trying to keep it from them, at Nile for telling them. At himself that things like this still succeeded in making him angry.

No one said anything for a long time, silently agreeing with Eren, yet not having anything to say.

It took the omega several more deep breaths to calm down before he shut his eyes and exhaled deeply. "I'm sorry, that was uncalled for," he whispered, leaning down to pick up the fallen chair, before he sat back down slowly, carefully, obviously trying to control himself.

Hanji only chuckled humorlessly while Nile shook his head, surprising everyone else with his next words, "It's understandable. I hate to say I even agree. But you'd be wise not to speak this way in front of me, or really anyone else not from your... happy little group, again."

Hanji actually snorted at that. "Happy little group? That's a new one."

Nile glared at her but said nothing. If they didn't know better, they'd say he maybe blushed a little bit.

The door to the kitchen opened then, Mrs. Dawk peeking out hesitantly. "Can we bring out dinner for you? We can leave again after that but it's getting cold and you shouldn't eat cold food for dinner."

Nile sighed something that sounded on the borderline of frustration and fondness. "It's okay, mother. We're done here."

"Oh, great. I was getting worried you were threatening to arrest them or something," she noted teasingly as she put a giant bowl of mashed potatoes in the middle of the table.

"Thank you mother," her son barked bitterly, obviously not amused by his mother's teasing.

"Yeah, thanks mom!" Hanji sang happily, digging a spoon into the bowl. She received a wide grin and an eyeroll in response.

"You're more than welcome sweetie."

"Your mom is great! Nothing like you," the female beta said with a wide grin, scowling at Nile during the last part.

Nile only scoffed, yet he was secretly amused when she got a whack over the head from the alpha Captain – who still had one of his hands on the titan-shifter's knee.

Honestly, the implications of their interactions disturbed the policeman deeply but he decided not to ask any questions. One, he doubted they would admit to anything and he had no means nor any proof to make them confess, and two, he was pretty sure the less he knew, the better. For him as well as everyone else. If the shifter was indeed expecting a little titan, god knows what the nobles – or worse, the First Military Police Brigade – would make him do. Worst case, they would have him... "retrieve" it. No thank you. A mission like that was equally as terrifying as it was probably dangerous. Not only would he be up against a goddamn titan but by the looks of it, against Levi as well. He had a wife and three kids. Suicide missions were not exactly on the agenda for him.

* * *

 **A/N:** These chapters are getting shorter and shorter... OTL (And I hate this one on top of it being short. Really hope you don't share my sentiments.)

Sorry, once again, for taking so long. I've been struggling with myself a lot lately and had no energy or motivation to write.


	21. A Little Bundle of Hypothetics

**A/N:** Alternatively titled "#SaveNile2k17"

* * *

The meal finished with awkward silence, stolen glances and subsequent accidental staring contests. To say Eren was relieved when he was done would be unnecessary, just as would be stating his despair when Levi's hand on his shoulder stopped him from leaving. The look his mate gave him was expressionless but Eren knew. 'You're not leaving me here,' it said.

The omega felt like crying but he understood where the alpha was coming from. Not that the knowledge made him feel any better, especially when Armin got up a minute later, escaping the tense atmosphere all by himself, leaving Eren to his own miserable fate.

On his way out, the blond looked quickly over his shoulder only to get a betrayed glare back. Armin smirked, sticking his tongue out at his best friend cheekily. 'Traitor,' Eren mouthed, causing the beta to swallow a snicker as Eren huffed and crossed his arms angrily over his chest as he shot his mate one last death glare for good measure.

Levi ignored him, much to Hanji's amusement.

Dirty plates had been carried away and tea had been served, and Eren was still sitting there unhappily. From the corner of his eyes, Levi could see Armin peeking down at them from the top of the stairs, too curious to actually leave, yet too uncomfortable to stay. The alpha would laugh if it weren't for the fact he was kind of uncomfortable himself.

No one was exactly eager to speak, but finally, when they were about half-way done with the warm beverage, Nile cleared his throat.

"So when... err... did this happen?" he gestured vaguely between Levi and Eren.

The young omega tensed, blindly and carefully searching for his mate solid presence. He settled when his hand met with Levi's knee, squeezing it nervously. The alpha's leg, which was close to Eren's own as the alpha rested his ankle on his other knee, jerked and Eren jumped, easing his grip immediately.

As opposed to his mate, who was getting scared over the issue being addressed, Levi wasn't worried. Or maybe he learned not to show it, even to himself. Rather, he looked the Commander in the eye coolly and deadpanned, "I have no idea what you are talking about."

Hanji snickered when Nile rolled his eyes, but quickly quieted herself, picked up her cup and innocently looked away when Levi shot her a threatening glare.

Nile sighed, leaning back in his chair, a calculating look in his eyes. He knew it was safer if he knew nothing, only basing everything on speculations, but he was more than sure of what was going on. Come on, he had an omega mate who'd been pregnant three times already. He'd been watching them since he arrived. Of course he could see it, more so identify his own protective instincts. And the curiosity was killing him.

"Okay, let me rephrase it," he said slowly, thinking about how to go about this. "Let's say, hypothetically, if a high ranking officer were to make their omega charge pregnant, and this action might get them all killed, what could have had, hypothetically, happened to make them go through with it? Hypothetically?"

A beat of awkward silence and Hanji had to clap a hand over her mouth to keep herself from laughing. Levi only raised a brow at the other alpha, but he was undeniably amused as well, while Eren could only gape, mortified. How the two of them could be enjoying this was beyond him. Commander Nile Dawk _knew_ for god's sake! What if he decided to do something with this information? What if he _told_ someone?!

Eren wanted so _bad_ to feel angry, to just scream and fight, to have something to take his emotions out on. Anger was familiar. But now, he felt so exhausted after his outburst the day before, after the long check-up with Hanji, after this... _encounter._ He could feel nothing but exhaustion and nervousness. He was nervous over what if something happened to either one of them. He was nervous over what Nile had the power to do. He didn't like it. He didn't like feeling anything other than anger. He didn't know what to _do_ with emotions that weren't anger. He hated what this pregnancy made him feel.

Briefly, he wondered if maybe he should follow his superiors' lead. They weren't worried; they found Nile's squirming funny. Eren realized they knew the Police Commander longer, better than he did and thought that maybe, since Levi didn't feel worried, there might be no reason to be. He tried to latch on the thought. He closed his eyes, took a deep breath and focused on the feeling of Levi under his palm, on the feeling of his mate laying his hand over Eren's own. Slowly, he felt his heartbeat slow down and the knots in his stomach release.

When he opened his eyes, he found himself looking at his alpha, who had his brows knit together in concern, and smiled reassuringly.

Levi shook his head in what seemed like disbelief, bringing his other hand to lightly hit Eren over the head, however, his hand was gentle, as was his expression when he smiled unnoticeably back.

They held each other's gaze for a second before Hanji cooed at them and the spell was broken. Eren blushed immediately while Levi made a noise of irritation and hid his embarrassment behind his tea cup.

Only when Nile cleared his throat, interrupting the manic beta's giggling, did the three look at him again. The Commander raised his eyebrows with a sarcastic expression and Levi rolled his eyes in response. "Hypothetically, let's just say that it's their business and that they don't plan on getting themselves killed. Rather, they will fucking slaughter anyone who will threaten them. Hypothetically."

Hanji snorted humorlessly while the alphas glared at each other.

Finally, Nile smirked, "You're kind of intense for a hypothetical scenario, don't you think, Levi?"

Levi didn't say anything but the others felt the dominances ease up. Eren didn't even realize how tense he was until the pressure was lifted. He gulped, lightly squeezing Levi's knee again while his other hand moved towards his stomach.

Nile followed the movement with his eyes, shaking his head, before draining his cup and standing up. "Well, now if you excuse me, I'm going to bed," he announced, giving them a nod, before he disappeared in the kitchen.

Only once the Commander closed the door behind himself, did the others look at each other.

"Well, that was interesting," Hanji laughed awkwardly.

Eren sagged at the sound, leaning lifelessly onto his mate who immediately snaked his hand around his back. "Yeah, I'd never think Erwin would take us to an inn ran by _Nile's_ fucking _mother,_ " the alpha growled back, rubbing at his eyes. He wasn't sure if he was angry or not, but he would have sure as hell appreciated a heads up.

"Can we go to back to our room now?" the omega whined. He was so done with this day, or more like these past three days. He couldn't wait to be back at the headquarters, even if it meant dealing with the fuckers who still thought an omega had no place in the army, or sneaking around again, or looking for that mysterious alpha. He didn't care; he just wanted to be home.

Levi nuzzled Eren's temple before giving it a soft kiss in response. "Sure, kid."

The omega returned a quick peck to the other's lips before heavily standing up and offering Levi his hand. Levi ignored Hanji's wide, fond grin and sparkling eyes as he took it, letting himself be led away.

* * *

Finally alone in their room, Eren collapsed on the bed, hiding his head under a pillow. If he pretended the world wasn't there, maybe it would actually go away.

Levi felt the urge to smile at the sight but found himself understanding the sentiment too well to find it actually funny, so he only untied his cravat and lied on the bed next to his mate on his side, running the hand he wasn't using as a pillow down the omega's spine.

The boy shivered lightly, moaning at the feeling as Levi lightly massaged the muscles of his lower back.

"Like it?" Levi asked, seemingly uninterested in the answer.

Eren paid no mind, knowing the other well enough to understand the care left unsaid. "Mhmmm," he hummed in response, moving the pillow so he could peek up at the alpha, who stared right back.

"Are you worried?" Eren asked after a while of silence only interrupted by several noises of agreement in reaction to Levi's attention to his tense muscles.

"Why should I be?" Levi asked back levelly, focusing at the task at hand.

Eren pulled his head out completely to have a better view of his mate as he continued, "Because of Commander Dawk. Are you worried he will do something?"

Levi took his time answering, thinking over how to best word his thoughts. "It's not that I'm not nervous but..." he paused, as Eren sat up to face him properly. He let his hand fall to rest on Eren's thigh as they talked. "I don't know him as well as Erwin or Hanji but I know he's not as much of a pig as the others around him. I know he wanted to join the Survey Corps until he fucked the omega Erwin liked at that time. He then decided he'd rather have a family with her than get himself killed for Erwin's noble cause along with the rest of us. Not to mention the atmosphere between two alphas who want to mate the same omega."

Eren listened closely to what Levi said as he didn't know any of this before. He knew there was some history between the two but he knew nothing about what it was until just now.

Levi sighed, beginning to trace small circles with his thumb where his hand lay on Eren's leg, and continued. "So I think he's not that much of a shitface as the rest of the police and he should understand how finding a mate and having a kid with them feels. Also, he doesn't have a single proof. It would be his word against ours, and after this fucking disaster he'd need a good one for Zackley to listen to him. He's a fucker and I can't stand him but Zackley's fair at least. And he hates the Capital pigs about as much as I do."

"So we should be fine?" Eren asked, more to himself, looking at his stomach absently.

"Well, he knows I'll gut him if he tries something, and he's a fucking coward so we're gonna be fine either way," Levi shrugged, stretching, signaling the discussion to be done.

Eren choked out something between a laugh and a horrified squeak and Levi smirked at the noise, receiving a smack over the shoulder from the boy.

Yeah; they were fine for now.

* * *

Meanwhile, Nile felt like he wanted to forget the last few days entirely, a tendency not unlike to the other soldiers in the inn. First he had to deal with the nobles who were disgustingly delighted at the prospect of having something on the titan shifter, or really, the Survey corps as a whole, then he had to deal with them when they found out it was a bunch of lies and they really had nothing and only made bigger idiots out of themselves, unfortunately taking the Commander along with them for the ride down. After that he had to talk to Erwin and warn him about the stupid assassination pseudo-plans the idiots he had to deal with on daily basis were plotting, and _after that_ he goes to his mother's inn to wind down _only to find those bastards still there._ And if that wasn't enough, he finds out the bunch of lies unfortunately wasn't so much a bunch of lies as it was a lucky guess, and to top it off, not only is the shifter _actually_ pregnant, Captain fucking Levi is the alpha responsible.

Nile needed a drink.

But letting him have the drink he clearly needed obviously wouldn't fit into the Worst Day of Nile Dawk's Life, oh no, on his way he got threatened by three different people, in addition to the threats Levi was throwing at him oh-so-subtly. First his own goddamn _mother_ corners him in the kitchen, pointing at him with a kitchen knife and _scolding him_ like a child, warning him not to mess with "the cute couple or so help me..." Nile couldn't understand what seemed so irresistible to his mother on Humanity's strongest and the titan shifter having a _child monster_ together (Honestly, Nile didn't want to see what the kid grew up into; Humanity's strongest titan shifter with a thuggish vocabulary, no respect and anger issues? Nile would have to say no, thank you.) but apparently there was something that made her want to give her eldest son a heart attack, when he turned away from the cupboard only to be faced with the sharp steel of her gutting knife.

Then there was Hanji. He honestly should have expected that one but he was still taken off guard when she suddenly appeared in front of him, face shoved so far into his personal space he didn't think possible, with a deranged look on her face while she detailed what experiments she'd do on him if he decided to slip up and mention what he definitely didn't find out today. The light reflecting off her glasses also didn't help with Nile's uneasiness and he wondered if she was doing it on purpose.

By then Nile was crying inside for the alcohol waiting for him in his room as he was clutching the glass he somehow managed not to forget in the kitchen to his chest.

To be honest, however, the last attempt to threaten him was rather cute. The blond, tiny kid was more begging him while passively-aggressively making him feel like it was better not to say anything, for his own good as well as for the good of humanity and the walls and the goddamn Sun and Moon, and the kid did so while saluting stiffly with his eyes tightly closed. If Nile wasn't so mentally exhausted by then, he would laugh and maybe ruffle the kid's hair. But he could only stare as the kid bowed and ran off with a loud "Sir! Excuse me, Sir!" once he was done.

Nile was so done with this shit.

He locked the door to his room before going straight to the drawer where he had a bottle of alcohol ready, not bothering with the glass he got for himself while risking his own life, and took several big gulps straight from the bottle.

He so didn't sign up for this shit.

As soon as he got to work on Monday, he was filing for a vacation. Preferably a long one. Ideally until the time for his retirement.

* * *

 **A/N:** I'm sorry this took so long, and it so short, too... again... OTL It's just been a really difficult time for me mentally, as well as time-wise. And finals are starting Tuesday so I don't see the update schedule normalizing for while, yet...

Hopefully you enjoed the chapter, regardless the wait :)


	22. A Little Bundle of Home

**A/N:** It's aliiive!

Yeah, I'm as surprised as you are. (Does anyone even remember this? ^^;;)

* * *

It was before dawn the next day when Armin hesitantly knocked on the door of Captain Levi and Eren's room. Hearing no movement even after knocking again, he slowly opened the door to peek inside. The room was completely dark but he could make out the shapes of them sleeping on the bed. Carefully, he took a step inside but before he could call out or otherwise make his presence known, one of the shadows shot out to crouch protectively over the other, with what seemed like a knife in his hand.

Armin cried out in surprise, jumping back a bit and saluting on reflex. "Sir! I'm sorry, Sir! I was just sent by Squad Leader Hanji to wake you and Eren up!" he explained rapidly, his heart still beating loudly.

It took a few seconds for his words to process in Levi's head but then he visibly relaxed, putting his dagger back under his pillow. "Sorry I startled you. Thank you, Armin, you can go."

"Sir," Armin said, heaving a sigh of relief before releasing his salute and backing out of the room.

The room was silent for a moment before Eren, rolled over on the bed. "That scared me," he mumbled, voice still hoarse from sleep.

"I though you were asleep," Levi said, running a hand through his mate's hair.

"I was," Eren stated matter-of-factly.

Levi winced. "Sorry."

Eren shook his head, suppressing a yawn. "No need. I'd rather you wake me up for nothing than not wake up at all one day."

Levi made a face and Eren smiled a little, pulling him down for a kiss in reassurance.

* * *

There was still barely any light outside when the four of them were getting ready to leave, horses patiently waiting to be mounted just outside the inn. Mrs. Dawk stood in doorway, watching them as they put on their jackets and cloaks. She was biting on her bottom lip and looked very much like she had something to say, throwing glances outside before going back to eyeing Eren carefully.

It wasn't until they were almost out the door that she finally spoke up. "Eren, dear, you're not going to ride a horse all the way back to your headquarters, are you?"

Eren paused, blinking at her owlishly before exchanging a look with Levi and then Hanji. Both of them looked just as confused as Eren felt.

"Umm..." Eren let out dumbly, having no words to say.

Mrs. Dawk frowned, shooting an accusing glare at Hanji, before elaborating. "You're expecting, you should be avoiding excess tremors or there might be complications!"

"Oh," Eren blinked a few times, taken aback by this new information. "Well, there's not much we can do about it."

"We'll probably have to go much slower than we planned to," Hanji said slowly, thinking. She hadn't noticed anything wrong with Eren before but she was no expert by any means. "What exactly could happen?"

Now it was Mrs. Dawk's turn to be taken aback. Her frown deepened as she gave Hanji a suspicious look. "Aren't you his doctor?"

Hanji smiled wryly, "Only out of necessity. I'm not a doctor and I don't know much about pregnancies in general."

They received a narrowed glare under which they all shrunk guiltily; the one Levi received being especially sever, as it was apparently his fault he couldn't get his mate a proper doctor. He had to bite back a defensive growl.

The old woman sighed, accepting begrudgingly that she didn't know about their circumstances, and they did look like they were trying their best. So she went to explain. "Well, he might end up being too open to be able to keep the child in his womb. Worst case scenario, the baby falls out. If it seems it might be getting to that point, it's bed rest _immediately_ until he closes again.

"If he starts not feeling well at _any_ time, you listen to him. No 'it's just half a mile more.' Let him rest. That applies all the time, not just for this travel. Also-"

The woman continued to rapidly hurl information upon information at them in regards to pregnancy, frequent problems and what to do during labor, trying to educate them as much as she could in the little time she still had.

Soon Armin started turning green as Eren gulped audibly, staring wide-eyed at her, and Levi just looked like he would give anything to be able to erase the conversation from his memory. Only Hanji was hanging onto her every word, committing everything to memory.

They were all dead quiet until they'd left the inn behind them and Armin, still not exactly healthy looking, said in a slightly high-pitched voice, "Well, now I'm sure glad I can't get pregnant."

Eren laughed at that, sounding slightly hysterical while doing so. Levi resolutely stared ahead, determined to ignore any discussion bordering on the topic from earlier. Hanji, on the other hand, gave Eren a sympathetic look. "At least we have some idea what to expect now. Better than going completely blind like before."

"I think I would be better off going blind, in all honestly," Eren muttered bitterly. "You're not the one who'll either tear or be cut open when the time comes – but don't worry, the labor pain will be so bad I won't even notice."

Hanji winced, having nothing to say to that. "At least she'd promised to come help us when the due date comes close."

"Yeah..." Eren sighed, trying to find solace in having someone who actually knew what they were doing on their side. He was startled from his brooding by shouting from somewhere ahead. He frowned, wondering what was going on so early in the morning. Only when their little group exited the narrow street they were going through, finding themselves in the wide open area in front of the main gate, did it hit him. There were still several buildings that were in a state of disrepair, with men running around trying to rebuild them.

Armin immediately looked like a sense of shame ran through him. He exchanged a look with Eren who felt just as guilty for a moment before the shadow of the anger and betrayal he felt back then overwhelmed him again. He grit his teeth, trying to push the emotions back; especially the one feeling of confusion he still harbored somewhere deep within him over the last few seconds of the fight he had had with Annie. He tried to ignore the biting memory of how sad and broken she looked right before hiding in her pretty, little, _convenient_ crystal. Somehow, Eren had always doubted since then that she was that much of a demon as they – he – made her out to be, but thinking about it was too confusing and too painful. It was easier to think of her only as the enemy, the traitor. It was easier than wondering about what-ifs and making up excuses for her. The fact remained that she killed too many people to be forgiven and then ran away rather than face the consequences.

Still, Eren couldn't help but wonder what had happened to her to make her show such an expression.

After they finally exited the city, Eren slowed down his horse to fall back next to Hanji. She gave him small, if questioning smile and he took a deep breath. "Hanji, what's going on with Annie now?"

The squad leader gave him a slightly puzzled look. "Where did that come from?"

"I know I've never asked but..." Eren looked away from Hanji's piercing look. "Passing through Stohess; I got curious, I guess?"

Hanji studied his expression for a bit, trying to figure out what was going on in Eren's head right now. Ever since the incident, Eren had refused to even hear the name. He'd always left the room whenever someone mentioned her, much less asking about her himself. She wondered if he finally came to terms with it or if he simply decided to stop running away. However, finding no answer on his slightly nervous face, she went to explain. "There hasn't been much progress, actually," she sighed, making Eren raise his eyes to look back at her. "You know we took custody of her after you beat her. We've put her underground in one of our smaller bases and I've been trying to figure out how to get her out. I've been experimenting on a piece of crystal that was left after her titan body disintegrated, trying to find some chemical that might be able to dissolve it."

"But you haven't?" Eren asked, though it was not much of a question.

The beta shook her head. "No. So far I've only discovered it's similar in basic structure to what the walls are made of."

"So that means..." Eren started slowly, not sure he understood what she was saying correctly.

"Yes. The walls are probably made by titans crystalizing themselves," Hanji said simply, confirming Eren's suspicions.

The boy took a sharp intake of breath. "So that's why you'd been making me try to harden before..." he looked down at his stomach, biting his lip. "And now we're hindering what could be a solid clue to retaking Wall Maria."

"It's for a good cause," Hanji said quietly with a soft smile and Eren couldn't help but smile as well. It was, indeed, for a good cause, if a bit ill-timed.

Hanji's smile turned into a wide grin as she realized Eren didn't even notice his inadvertent use of 'we' instead of 'I' and the knowledge made her feel irrationally giddy. She decided not to mention it.

Eren cleared his throat then. "So have you tried just... I don't know, breaking the crystal?"

Hanji cocked her head to the side, studying Eren for a moment. "Well, you were pretty out of it so you probably don't remember but some people tried that kind of immediately. They weren't even able to put a scratch on the damn thing with our swords." She chuckled humorlessly before continuing "But I'm kind of wary of trying to use force, honestly."

"Why?" Eren questioned, eager to know whatever she was willing to share with him.

"Because it might kill her. All her functions probably have to be completely stopped while she's inside so who knows how much she's actually blended into the crystal, somehow? If we broke it, we might break her right along with it. Like a frozen fruit. Cracked right inn half. Even if that's not the case, it might be too much of a shock for her body to be suddenly woken up from this sort of heavy hibernation. Either way, I don't think this is a process that could be sped up too much."

Eren didn't say it but they both knew it. Not daring to speed up the process was one thing; not knowing where to even start triggering it was another.

* * *

The ride back to headquarters took them much longer than they meant it to. After the horror story they got to hear that morning, not one of them was exactly eager to hurry the move up, but the whole thing was much more grueling than needed be. The fact they expected an ambush every minute of the way only added to the fatigue they all felt when they finally arrived at the castle early that afternoon.

Apparently, they also unintentionally caused some nervousness there as well, as Mikasa met them as soon as they stopped in front of the stables. Obviously she'd been anxiously awaiting them and judging by the growling of her stomach, she even skipped lunch because of it.

"What took you so long?" she questioned Eren and Armin as soon as the officers dismissed her salute.

Eren rubbed at the back of his neck sheepishly after landing on his feet, dismounting from his horse. "Sorry, we've received some... disturbing warnings over hurrying," he explained, making a face. He really didn't want to remember that particular conversation.

"What?" Mikasa frowned, not understanding. She looked to Armin for explanation, who only shook his head.

"You really don't want to know."

Taking in the twisted looks on all of their faces Mikasa decided she indeed didn't want to know. So instead she nodded, turning to Hanji. "The Commander asked to tell you to report to him as soon as you arrive. He seemed nervous about your delay as well."

Hanji groaned. "I don't want to talk to him; Levi you do it," she whined, hanging herself over Levi's shoulders.

Levi immediately shook her of. "Disgusting. You smell like a horse and five days of sweat." He shuddered, making a face. "You better take a shower before checking on Eren."

"I will if you report to Erwin for me," she said innocently.

The alpha only sneered before shoving her face away. "No fucking way, shitty glasses. This is your problem so go deal with it yourself."

"Mean!" Hanji cried, dramatically clutching at her chest. Suddenly, she turned to Eren. "Isn't he mean? Eren, tell him he's mean!"

"Uhm.." Eren looked around helplessly but was met only with amused and slightly curious stares from his sister and best friend, and a challenging one from his mate. He looked back at Hanji and begged, "Please, leave me out of this."

Hanji pouted slightly, but got distracted immediately after as a short bark of laughter came from the Captain. The other four stared at him in amazement even as he caught himself a second later and schooled his expression back to neutral.

Soon, Hanji was grinning like a maniac, barely stopping herself from jumping to hug her short, grumpy friend. Who knew something – or someone – could ever make him actually laugh, out in the open, in front of _witnesses_. She grinned wider when Levi frowned, obviously unhappy with himself. "Okay, I'll take that as payment," she sang, not caring she just agreed to both reporting to Erwin _and_ taking a bath.

Still, Levi didn't seem happy. He clicked his tongue, before yanking all of the reins from their hands and striding off, leading the horses away.

There was silence after him that broke only when Mikasa snorted quietly, covering her mouth with her scarf in an effort to muffle herself. "Was he actually embarrassed?"

"I think so," Armin whispered, still staring after their Captain with wide eyes.

"Definitely," Eren nodded with a grin.

Hanji laughed again, clapping Eren on the back. "Good job."

Eren turned to look at her questioningly, but she only winked at him before she turned around, stretching her arms above her head to release some of the tension in her back as she headed inside the castle. "I expect you in the lab in two hours."

The three of them who were left exchanged glances before shrugging and heading inside as well, Eren immediately dragging Mikasa towards the kitchen to feed her, whether she liked it or not. If _she_ wouldn't let him starve, like hell _he_ would let her do so.

* * *

Only when Eren finally sat down in his own bed minutes later to get dressed after his shower and wait until it was time to go to Hanji, did Eren realize how tired he still was, even after sleeping half the day away the day before. He didn't know if it was the relief of finally being back at the headquarters or what, but suddenly he felt every muscle in his body relax for the first time in what felt like forever and he only wanted to bury himself in Levi's warmth and pass out for a while. He definitely didn't feel like moving or letting Hanji prod at him.

He reasoned he still had time before he had to go anywhere so he let himself fall down on his bed, staring at the ceiling for a long time. His thoughts came back to the trip they just came back from and he felt his face scrunch up. He bit his lip, trying no to cry; he thought he got it out of his system that night when he had the fight with Levi but now, lying in the silence of his own basement cell made into an inhabitable room with Levi's own hands, with Levi's clothes inside his closet, and the knowledge he could go in and out whenever he wanted to, see Levi whenever he wanted to, it hit him again just _how damn close_ this was. He almost lost everything. He almost let _Levi_ lose everything.

He hated crying this much; people had always called him a crybaby but he just couldn't help it, not this time. These past few days were too much. First the fear and stress with the interrogation, then more stress with Nile, the exhaustion from the long, slow journey back. And now he could lie back and let it all go and suddenly it was too much to hold in. So he let it go and the tears finally spilled. Eren curled up around his stomach protectively, stroking at it carefully, and letting himself cry. Then he had to laugh when he realized he could feel a tiny bump there already.

Not two minutes later the door to his room opened and soon his bed dipped with additional weight. He didn't have to open his eyes to know who it was; he only leaned up into the touch when his mate stroked his cheek carefully.

It took either of them a moment to acknowledge the situation but then Eren reached up to grab Levi's hand and slowly looked up at his alpha. He was surprised himself how easily he smiled when he saw the caring look on Levi's face.

The other frowned lightly at the conflicting emotions both on his mate's face and those that were seeping through the bond. "Are you okay?" he asked quietly, not wanting to disturb the serene atmosphere in the room.

Eren's smile widened a bit as he replied. "I am now."

And he was.

They were home.

* * *

 **A/N:** Apparently no school means no procrastination means little to no writing. Who'd have thought? Hopefully, the next chapter won't take me as long to write as this one did...


	23. A Little Bundle of Family

**A/N:** Some violence here. Nothing graphic or major, just a brief summary of... the result of Levi's visit. Just so you're ready for it. (I so wanted to name the chapter "Crime & Punishment" but that would break the pattern (and would sound terrible if combined with the A Little Bundle of *insert chapter title*)

* * *

Marzell squirmed in his cell, body protesting loudly as the wounds he had received from the furious alpha girl and later, for some reason, the Commander himself, still weren't healed. He didn't understand what was going on. Sure, he lied and caused trouble, endangered the precious "human weapon" but he just couldn't comprehend why that initiated such over-the-top, violent reactions. _And_ locking him up as if he were some criminal to be put on trial. He'd understand some disciplinary action but to be held in a cell?

He was brought from him musings when the door leading to the holding cells, all empty save for his own self, creaked open and, after a long pause, a head suddenly poked in. He jumped a little, his bruised shoulder hitting the wall painfully. Damn Squad leader Hanji and her love for dramatic entrances.

Hanji grinned when she received her intended reaction from the lone prisoner before turning around while kicking the door open more widely. Soon, Marzell understood why as she took a lamp and a tray with some food from her assistant Moblit.

"Squad leader are you sure I shouldn't stay?" Moblit asked anxiously, his hands twitching to take at least one of the items from Hanji's hands. Marzell could see why, as it looked like the lamp was close to slipping from her fingers and breaking on the floor, drenching the floor _and_ the Squad leader in oil and setting everything on fire.

Hanji only laughed maniacally, "Nah, there's no need! You just go and make sure to keep Eren away from here."

Moblit saluted hesitantly, throwing one last uncertain look at her as he walked off.

Marzell wasn't sure but as the squad leader turned to face him, it seemed like the amusement drained from her eyes and left them hard and cold even as her smile stayed firmly in place.

But it could be the light playing tricks on him just as well.

He was at least certain her grip on both the tray and the lamp became much more sure than it was before Moblit left as she took two steps towards the closest chair and carefully left the burning lamp standing on it, making sure it was steady before letting go and, holding the tray in one hand, fished around her pocket for the keys to the cells.

Not a minute later, Marzell was once again locked inside his cell, but now with a tray of food – slightly hard bread and cold, bland stew. Only when he took the first bite did he realize he was hungry. His stomach agreed as it let out a growl that echoed around the large, stony room.

Hanji let out a chuckle where she stood outside his cell, keys still in hand. "Sorry, sorry. Seems you didn't get lunch before and I almost forgot to bring you your dinner! It's actually almost curfew now, can you believe it?" she let out a little apologetic laugh. Marzell couldn't put his finger on it but somehow, it didn't sound like it was entirely true. She definitely didn't sound sorry.

He expected the Squad leader would leave then when she reached for the lamp standing on the chair but she just placed in on the floor instead. Then she turned the chair around and sat on it backwards, using the back to put her hands on and resting her chin on them as she watched him.

Her stare was so piercing it made him uncomfortable. It made it harder to chew for sure, making him conscious of his every move. He felt like one of her subjects of study; the fact he was sitting in a metaphorical cage not helping with the imaginary the slightest bit.

Like this, it took him a long time to finish eating but eventually, he managed, placing the tray carefully back on the floor in front of the door where Hanji left it for him before to pick up.

This time, he expected she really would just take the tray back and leave but she didn't move. Just continued to stare at him which made him more and more nervous. Just what was going on? Was he to be used in experiments as punishment? Was there something in his food and she was just waiting for it to start taking effect?

He gulped loudly, eyeing the Squad leader carefully.

For a long time, nothing happened but finally, she spoke up, "Say, Marzell," she drew out the last syllable slightly, as if she was thinking. "You did something very bad, do you realize that?"

Now he was sure any amusement was gone from both her voice and her expression. In that moment, she looked cold, distant, and dangerous. Marzell felt an urge to cower but there was nowhere to hide so the only thing he could do was drop his gaze.

He didn't give her an answer; doubted she wanted or expected one anyway. Still, she paused as if waiting for one. Before the silence stretched to become _too_ uncomfortable, she laughed again. The sound sent chills down Marzell's spine. In that moment he was only glad the Squad leader wasn't an alpha. He somehow doubted he wouldn't be whimpering and pleading for mercy by this point if she were.

"You know, Eren is a very important member of the Corps." She paused, he gaze wandering towards the door as she rubbed at her chin in contemplation. "He's a very valuable asset to our battle power as well as a source of much information. We've made more progress with our research the very day his power was discovered than we have since starting it years ago. He brought the first ever victories to humanity." Her eyes shifted to bore into him again accusingly, her words heavy despite the deceivingly light tone and Marzell froze completely. "And because of you we almost lost him."

Now he had to bite his tongue inside his mouth to keep the fearful noises in.

But Hanji paid him no mind, continuing with her monologue. "And that's not all he is, he hold much more power in here than just that – besides the fact he's a precious boy who doesn't deserve this treatment – and omega prejudice.

"Hey, Marzell, do you have a family?"

Marzell blinked a few times, taken aback by the sudden change in topic. What did his family have to do with anything? He raised his eyes carefully to give Hanji a questioning glance but she only stared back. As the silence stretched on, he realized that yes, he was mean to answer, so he slowly, almost unnoticeably, nodded.

"Hm? You do, I see," Hanji said in a neutral tone before questioning further. "Any wife or kids?"

This time he shook his head, eyes going wide. "N-No. Just..." he gulped even as his mouth was dry. "Just my parents and older brother."

"So no bond, yeah?" she confirmed and he nodded, before she muttered to herself, barely audible, "Well, beta bonds are weaker anyway..."

Marzell frowned, not understanding where this was going.

Noticing his expression, Hanji smiled wryly, slumping forward to hang over the back of her chair. "You see, Levi used to have family. Lost it every time. The last time it happened, it was his first mission. Hit him hard. I was there and saw him, sat with him as he got shitfaced trying to forget they were gone. After that he swore he'd never get this attached. I think he was convinced he was cursed or something. Well, he's soft so he cares anyway but still; he kept his word and never let anyone close enough to _call_ family. As his best friend, I, too, swore something later." Her head dropped slightly and the light from the lamp danced over her glasses, making it difficult to gauge her expression. "I swore that if he ever found someone important enough to let in, I'd give my life to protect that person."

A heavy silence descended upon them, the weight of what Hanji just said, even as out-of-context as it seemed, hit Marzell hard. He felt like he'd committed a very grave crime unknowingly, yet he still didn't understand why the Squad leader was telling him this or how it related to the thing he had _actually_ done.

Meanwhile, Hanji was lost in her memories of the times Levi cracked in front of her, telling her everything about his mother, the man who took care of him and then abandoned him, about Isabel and Farlan. About Eren. She hurt for her friend when she imagined what he had to go through in the past and what he almost had to go through now.

Marzell jumped when Hanji finally moved again after a long, long while. Her head shot up and she stared at him with that piercing gaze again, but now the gaze was softer. It almost seemed pleading. "Anyway; without realizing what you were doing, you did something we can't forgive. None of us. So please don't hate us for this."

The frown was back on Marzell's face, even deeper than before. Hate them for _what_? Hate _whom_ for what?

His mouth fell open, ready to ask something but Hanji closed her eyes and shook her head as if to clear it, before she stood up, took her lamp and headed for the door after retrieving the empty tray. She only paused for a moment with her hand on the handle, but she didn't say anything, didn't turn around. Just left and only silence and unsettled, foreboding feelings remained.

* * *

Hanji closed the door behind herself, slumping against it immediately. She closed her eyes and took a deep breath, bumping her head against the wood softly a few times. 'Stupid, stupid,' she thought, berating herself, yet not sure for what exactly.

She wasn't surprised when a level voice interrupted her, alerting her that she was not alone. "I always knew you were going to kill yourself one day. I just assumed it'd be in some shitty titan's mouth, not by you splattering your own brains on some door."

Hanji laughed loudly, as Levi continued to expressionlessly stare in front of himself, leaned against the adjacent wall with his arms crossed. "Good one, Levi!" Hanji said when she caught her breath. "Glad to see you care."

The alpha gave her a blank stare which Hanji returned with her teasing one. "You've been in there for a while, having a good shit or something?" He said instead of commenting.

Hanji took the wording in stride, not even blinking. She'd heard something similar too many times for it to still throw her off. "Something like that."

"Hope you didn't say anything unnecessary," Levi said after a pause.

Hanji cocked her head to the side as if analyzing the words she had said inside the room behind her back. "Define unnecessary."

Levi rolled his eyes at that, making Hanji snort. "Great."

"Yep," she nodded with a grin, belying her own conflicted feelings on the matter.

They stood there together for a long while, neither saying anything, each mulling over their own thoughts. Neither even moved, just Hanji's grin was gradually changing into something calmer, more solemn.

Only when Levi uncrossed his arms did Hanji say something again. "Eren?"

"I told him I had to take care of something. He was exhausted anyway so he's probably asleep by now."

Hanji nodded moving away from the door, yet still looming close by. It was obvious she wasn't planning to leave and somehow, Levi was grateful for that.

He moved over to stand next to her. "If he comes here, don't let him in," he said resolutely, accepting without a word Hanji's silent support.

The beta frowned, looking at Levi's calm profile. "I sent Moblit to keep him away if necessary but if you can't keep yourself in check enough and he comes running down here, there's no way to keep him out of the loop."

Levi was quiet for a second before he took the last step towards the door, resting his hand on the handle. "Just don't let him in." He pushed down, ready to open the door when Hanji's hand on his forearm stopped him.

"Wait," she said and he looked back at her questioningly.

As soon as he did, Hanji retreated her hand as if it got burned before she laughed awkwardly, avoiding eye contact. Great, Levi thought, he didn't even realize but if his eyes were glowing already there was no way he'd be able to not alert Eren of this happening by the time he was finished.

He sighed and tried to calm down. "What is it?" he asked, trying to keep his voice as normal as possible. Which was hard to do. He already felt – or more like smelled, probably, if what Hanji said about pheromones was the real thing – there was a scared little beta behind this door who needed to be punished for his crimes. Badly. But still. He was no animal. He could keep himself calm if he tried.

At least that was what he tried telling himself.

Hanji visibly gulped before bracing herself and meeting his eyes again. She flinched a little but held his gaze for a bit before saying softly, "I know Erwin said he's all yours but... try not to overdo it."

A beat of silence passed before Levi broke the eye contact with a firm, "I know."

With that he was gone, inside a what Hanji now saw as a mystery box. Anything could happen inside and she was scared of what she'd see once it was opened.

* * *

Hanji was forced to move away from the door by her instincts and the occasional muffled screams. That's why she was leaning onto the wall several feet away instead, contemplating her life choices, when her attention was drawn towards two sets of footsteps and a pleading voice she was all too familiar with. Not unsurprising, but what confused her was that they were going at normal speed. No rush, no frantic searching, no panic. Just... walking with the destination already in mind.

She cocked her head to the side curiously, waiting for them to round the corner.

"Eren, please, just go back to bed. You're tired!"

"I'm sorry, Moblit, but I can't." Hanji was again surprised by how calm, if a bit strained, Eren's voice sounded. She expected screaming and rage or something equally explosive.

A split second later she could only think, 'Ah, there it is.'

The two appeared before her and so she could see plainly how bright Eren's eyes were, probably in response to Levi's own, and how tight he was clenching his jaw and fists in his effort to keep calm. Hanji could only smile even when she instinctively felt like she should get out of this omega's way.

"Squad leader, I'm sorry but there was no way I could have-" Moblit tried to apologize and explain his failure of following his orders, but Hanji's raised hand stopped him. There was no need. Hanji could only thank the man later for trying.

"Hey Eren, what are you doing here?"

Eren glared at her but Hanji only smiled wider. This was, in the end, no different than suppressing her fears when facing titans. As long as she kept her distance, she'd be fine.

The young omega let out a frustrated noise before running a hand through his hair maybe a bit more aggressively than would be strictly necessary. "How long has he been in there?" he asked in form of answer.

Hanji was a little taken aback by how direct Eren was but she gave her estimate right away, not about to rile Eren up more. "About 10 minutes, I think. He should be done soon."

Eren closed his eyes and took a few deep breaths before he groaned and let himself fall against the wall. Hanji couldn't help but note with some undeniable amusement that he ended up in almost exactly the same place where she found Levi a while ago.

Moblit immediately jumped towards him, hovering a bit away still, not daring to come any closer. "Eren, are you okay?" he questioned, worry apparent in his voice.

"Yeah, just... Give me a moment. This a kind of difficult," Eren growled through clenched teeth.

Hanji looked on sympathetically, having no idea what Eren was going through but she had read enough about mate bonds to have a vague idea. In that moment, they were probably lucky their bond was so dulled emotionally. Otherwise it might get dangerous for both Eren and the little one to get so riled up so soon after the stressful few days they've just left behind.

Eren took a few more deep breaths before finally opening his eyes again, looking at Hanji uncertainly. She smiled more gently and Eren felt a little reassured, some of the tension leaving him. So he let himself slide down until he was sitting on the floor, staring intently at the wall directly opposite of him.

Hanji frowned. From the corner of her eye she could see Moblit slink away, probably to stand guard and give them some semblance of privacy. She made a mental note to buy him a cake the next time she goes to town. But now her attention focused on Eren. "You're not trying to stop him? Are you actually okay with this?" she questioned.

Eren's brows drew together as he contemplated his answer. "Well, no. I mean, I'd love to punch the guy too but... well." He paused, thinking over what he was trying to say next. "But I figure he needs it. I already took everything out on him; he deserves to take it out on something too. And what better thing than the one who caused it in the first place."

Hanji was silent, studying Eren as he sat there, flexing his hand nervously. He sighed and continued, "Not like I'm happy about it, I doubt he'll be either when he calms down, but I don't know how else to, I don't know, help him."

Hanji hummed noncommittally, letting her head fall back against the door and studying the ceiling a for a bit. "I think just being there for him will be enough, Eren," she said finally.

Eren frowned but didn't say anything to contradict her, even though Hanji could tell he wanted to.

* * *

It wasn't long after that when Levi emerged, considerably bloody but calm. He was taken aback that Eren was waiting for him there, but he didn't comment and only let himself be led upstairs to take a bath and go to sleep.

Hanji then took Levi's place inside the room, looking over the damage done. In all honesty, it wasn't as bad as she feared, though the result wasn't pretty. Marzell was very much unconscious and covered in his own blood, but it seemed like most of it came from the broken nose and a split eyebrow, both extremely minor injuries. The broken leg and ribs were worse, along with his right hand which looked suspiciously like someone stepped on it, not to mention the forming bump and accompanying bruise on his head that looked pretty nasty. He'd have to be checked for concussion, which he will undoubtedly have. He – and everyone else, honestly – should probably hope it will be bad enough to make him forget about this incident entirely.

Hanji had Moblit help her move the unfortunate guy to the infirmary before dragging him to the lab. He didn't even protest when she dug out a bottle and two glasses, pouring a shot for both of them.

"Sorry about that, Moblit. And thank you, really," she said, cringing slightly upon remembering what the guy had to go through constantly.

When all Moblit said was a quiet, "It's okay, Squad leader," Hanji frowned.

"You're not even going to ask what's going on?" She was incredulous. Nobody told Moblit anything and then suddenly he's asked to keep an omega, who's furious for apparently no reason, away from the holding cells, from where Captain Levi then exits drenched in the blood of a beaten half-to-death soldier, after which said omega and Captain Levi leave together without a single word.

On second thought, maybe it was obvious.

Moblit shook his head. "I kind figured," he said, confirming Hanji's suspicions. "And anyway, it's not my place to question orders and actions of superiors I trust. Either you tell me when it's time or you don't." He shrugged, a mild blush appearing on his cheeks soon after.

Hanji was silent for a beat before she let out a bark of laughter, covering her eyes with one hand. "Haha, you really _are_ incredible, Moblit."

The man in question only looked away, taking a sip from his glass.

"Hey, Moblit..." Hanji said quietly.

"Yes, Squad leader?"

"Families are amazing, aren't they?" There was some sort of melancholy in her voice that made Moblit look at her. She was still in the same position, hand over her eyes and slight smile on her lips. Moblit wasn't sure what the smile meant, if it even meant anything at all.

He could only nod in response.

* * *

 **A/N:**...Can't I go a chapter without making somebody have a drink? Apparently not. But they all need it, you can't deny that! Right? Right?

Anyway, I actually kinda like this chapter; hope you do too? ((Tell me you do, I'll cry if you don't.)) I hope I managed to convey the mood(?) I was going for at least...


	24. A Little Bundle of Syphilis

**A/N:** Yes, I should be studying for my midterm. Yes, I should be gathering materials for and writing my thesis. Aren't you glad I'm not doing either of those things? (*^.^*)

* * *

The mates didn't talk on their way upstairs. In part, they didn't want to draw attention to themselves in case someone was wandering around the castle – it was after curfew but it was not like anybody was ever making sure it was followed. It was an unspoken rule in the Survey Corps that if you wanted to stay up until morning and be half-dead later, it was your choice, and your problem. Especially since nightmares were such a common problem all throughout the ranks and there was no point trying to pretend otherwise.

But besides that, there was also the solemn atmosphere hanging in between them. There wasn't anything to say; no need for words of comfort and no need for explanations.

Making a detour to stop by the Captain's room, Eren watched as Levi wiped his hands into his dirty shirt once again in an effort to rid them of as much blood as possible before he touched his towel or sleeping attire.

"It's okay, I'll get it," Eren said after a few seconds and Levi's head snapped in his direction.

"What?" he questioned with a frown.

"I'll take your stuff," the omega repeated as he strode over to where Levi was standing. He picked up two clean towels before heading towards the bed to gather their clothes.

Levi stared as he did so, his frown only deepening. "What are you doing?"

Eren looked over his shoulder, cocking his head to the side. "Coming with you?"

"Didn't you already take a shower? Go to sleep, brat. Don't worry about it."

Eren shook his head, turning back towards the small pile of things in front of him. "No, I want to come with," he said resolutely, before adding more softly, almost as an after thought, "I couldn't fall asleep anyway."

Levi paused at that, looking away, well aware of his restlessness that was probably seeping through the bond and right into the omega. "Sorry," he muttered.

Eren gathered everything into his arms and turned around, walking back up to stand in front of Levi. "Really, it's okay." His expression didn't change but he held Levi's gaze unwaveringly so the alpha relented.

"Come on, then. I can't wait to get rid of this shit." Levi said with disgust in his voice, gesturing to himself vaguely. Eren only nodded, not mentioning the relief that flashed on the other's face.

The two of them took of again in silence, walking towards the bathroom mostly by memory through the dark hallways with the lamp in Levi's hands as their only source of light, and soon closing the bathroom door behind them.

As soon as they were safely alone again, Eren closed his eyes to take a few deep breaths as a tension he didn't realize he was carrying left his body. It was nerve wrecking, walking together through the walls, all the blood on Levi not helping the situation at all. If somebody caught only one of them walking towards the other's room, they could easily lie, saying they were taking a walk because they couldn't sleep. But he had no idea how they would explain this.

Luckily, they didn't have to, and Eren was brought back to reality soon by the distinct sound of someone removing their shirt. He glanced over at his mate, only to see him looking his shirt over critically, with a disgusted face.

"Well, this shirt is ruined," he stated matter-of-factly, before tossing it towards the sink and missing by a few feet. The shirt landed on the floor with a heavy flop, heavier than a bunch of cotton should make.

Eren frowned and walked over to look at it himself as Levi proceeded to remove the rest of his clothes. "It's not that bad," Eren mumbled more to himself than Levi, when he picked the shirt up. It was covered in splotches of red, but none of them were very large and it still hasn't dried up. "I'll soak it and see how it looks tomorrow, maybe some bleach will save it."

Levi looked at him, standing on one leg as he removed his uniform pants. "Suit yourself," he shrugged, before going back to the task at hand – getting rid of those shitty, tight pants and then getting under the blessed spray of water.

The omega took that as a sign of approval and went to plug one of the sinks before filling it with cold water, putting the shirt inside. Immediately, the water turned pink and Eren fought the urge to recoil with disgust. He could hear Levi snort behind him; he should be used to seeing blood by now – and he was. But seeing it dispersing in weird, ominous shapes into the clear water was different than seeing it pour from gaping wounds or on dirty bandages that were going to be thrown away. But he didn't argue, just turned away from the sight, instead searching the bathroom for his mate.

Not seeing Levi behind him, Eren took the clean towels he left in one of the dry sinks before and walked around the wall separating the showers from the rest of the room. Levi was already under the showerhead closest to the far wall, where the water pressure was best, fiddling with the faucet and waiting for the water to start falling in a more constant stream, the choice of the shower more a force of habit than anything as there was no way there would be any hot water left this late.

Eren took a moment to just look at him. He never got tired of it, especially when Levi seemed unaware of his gaze, focused on the task at hand. He watched how his back muscles moved as he rolled hi shoulders, how he raised his hand to push his hair back, how clearly his mating mark stood out against his skin. Warmth spread from his stomach all the way to his fingertips. He still couldn't help but feel amazed and incredibly lucky to be the one to put it there, to be the one carrying this man's child. Sometimes, it felt like a dream; he could still vividly recall the days when Captain Levi was just a name, something to aspire to be. And now he was his.

"Are you just planning to stare like a creep or will you come here so I can hug the shit out of you?"

Eren startled, nearly dropping the towels at the unexpected interruption. "Sorry," he muttered a second later, fumbling to hang up the towels on the hooks and to take off his own clothes, much to Levi's amusement.

In under a minute, Eren was naked and walking carefully on the slippery, wet floor to join his mate under the cold spray. As soon as he was close enough, Levi grabbed his wrist and yanked him close, their chests colliding and arms going automatically around each other. Levi buried his face in the crook of Eren's neck, closing his eyes and finally, finally letting himself relax. It was over; they were safe. His mate and child were safe, here, in his arms, the one who endangered them rightfully punished and most probably unconscious, and the alpha in him growled at the rightness of it. Even as the more rational part of him frowned at the action of beating up a subordinate until half-death, he just couldn't bring himself to really, fully regret it.

"Are you okay now?" Eren questioned quietly after a while, his fingers threading lightly through the alpha's hair.

Levi snorted in response, "What makes you ask?" He moved away a bit so he could speak, opting to rest his forehead on Eren's shoulder, as his hands loosened their hold slightly, with thumbs tracing circles on the omega's hips.

"Wild guess," Eren said with as much sarcasm as he could muster, taking pride in how it made Levi bark out a laugh which resounded around the room.

"I'm fine Eren," Levi sighed finally, a small smile still on his lips.

"Are you sure? You didn't even wear gloves or, I don't know, an apron earlier."

"Cause it was personal," the alpha answered matter-of-factly, a slight growl in his voice as an echo of his previous fury came back to. At the sound, Eren resumed his forgotten petting and Levi gradually calmed down again.

Deeming the topic done and over with, Levi decided to change the subject to address – according to him – a matter more pressing than his emotional state. Watching Eren undress earlier, an act which said omega managed to make as unsexy as it gets in his embarrassed hurry after being caught staring, he couldn't help but notice Eren's pants fit him more tightly than could possibly be comfortable, and he couldn't help but wonder why. So, as was his nature, he just asked outright, "You need larger uniform. Why the fuck do you not have one yet? Do I need to hurry shit up for you?"

Immediately, he felt Eren stiffen and that gave him answer enough. Frowning, he straightened up, pushing Eren away a bit to be able to comfortable look him in the eye. Which was impossible anyway as Eren apparently found something incredibly interesting somewhere above his right shoulder.

"You haven't asked for one, have you," it wasn't a question.

Eren frowned and his eyes flickered towards Levi's grey ones before veering off again. He mumbled something intelligible and Levi absentmindedly noted the goosebumps on Eren's arms. He quickly turned off the shower; Hanji would kill him if she knew he let Eren stand in cold water for this long. He pushed his mate backwards until they were on dry floor again and proceeded to wrap him up in one of the blessedly warm towels, all the while scowling unhappily.

"Why the fuck have you not told Erwin you need bigger clothes?" he asked sternly, crossing his arms in front of his chest.

Eren blushed a little, although that might have been just the warmth returning to his skin, and pulled the towel more tightly around himself. He still refused to look at Levi as he finally answered clearly, "It's embarrassing, admitting I've gotten so fat."

Levi closed his eyes, fighting the urge to face-palm. "Eren, how many times do I have to tell you that's not fat, it's the kid? Do you _want_ to suffocate and crush the kid in the process?"

Eren's eyes widened at that, his arms instantaneously moving to cover his stomach.

"Thought so," Levi said with eyes narrowed dangerously. "Tomorrow you either go to Erwin first thing in the morning or I'll do it myself. Are we clear?"

"Yes sir," Eren replied dejectedly, resigned to be forced to admit to having gained a pound or two. A pound or two that was _not_ muscle. Unthinkable for a soldier, in Eren's opinion.

"Good," the alpha nodded before he turned around to finally wash up properly.

* * *

The next day found Eren pacing nervously in front of Commander Erwin's office right after lunch; but that was also only after having been – most kindly – assured that his Captain indeed didn't forget about the uniform issue and that he would, without hesitation, follow up on his promise, and in the most embarrassing wording possible.

Eren would much rather embarrass himself, thank you very much.

So, after several unsuccessful attempts, he finally brought his hand up to rap sharply on the wood of the door the Commander's office.

Only when a few seconds later came the prompt to come in, did the young omega realize he was holding his breath. Why was he so nervous? It was not like he was about to break it to his mother that he broke her favorite vase or something. Just asking for a new uniform. Easy, right?

Apparently not.

He took a large breath before he pushed the door open to be greeted by the Commander himself, smiling pleasantly at him. It unnerved him, that smile. Like he could see right through him and knew all of his deepest, darkest secrets. How had he used to keep his calm around him when his and Levi's relationship was a secret only between the two of them?

Maybe he was this nervous _because_ it was not their own secret anymore.

Or maybe it really was just because saying the words "I need bigger pants, my stomach's too big" out loud _was_ , actually, that awkward, no matter who you said it to.

Well, he was inside now, so there was no way around it. And Erwin's eyebrows were starting to knit together in confusion; he'd better get it over with before this got even more awkward.

So Eren took the leap and just blurted it out before he could think about it any more. "I need bigger pants." On second thought, maybe he should have thought about it for just a second longer. He saw Erwin blink once, twice, the corner of his mouth twitching, so he quickly cleared his throat and tried again. "I mean, I need a new uniform. A bigger size. Sir."

Eren could swear he saw Erwin gulp down a laugh but when the Commander spoke up, it was with a level, absolutely calm voice with no trace of amusement, and Eren had to admire his ability to keep his emotions away from his voice, if not his eyes , which were obviously dancing with mirth.

"Of course, Eren, I was wondering when this would come up. In fact, there should already be a uniform waiting for you. Just go talk to Nanaba and she'll get it for you. And if the size is not right, tell her and she'll get it sorted out."

Eren saluted stiffly, "Thank you, Sir."

"No problem, Eren," Erwin smiled, nodding his dismissal.

The omega turned around, hurrying to be out of this mortifying situation, however, before he even made two steps, the Commander spoke up again, "Oh, by the way," he paused as if searching for words and Eren stopped in his tracks, turning back around curiously.

"Sir?"

"Hanji has been running around all morning asking everyone she saw some questions, I thought I should warn you."

Eren blinked, cocking his head to the side slightly. "What questions?"

Erwin shook his head with a smile wider than before. "I'm sure you'll find out soon enough. But be prepared for the worst, I noticed your friends Sasha and Connie answering with particular enthusiasm."

Eren's stomach filled with dread. If Sasha and Connie were helping "enthusiastically", the result couldn't be anything good.

Seeing Eren's expression, Erwin laughed. "No need to be so scared, I promise it's nothing too bad. Or life threatening in any way or form."

'That doesn't really help, you know,' Eren thought bitterly, but to the blond alpha he simply nodded in acknowledgement of the warnings before saluting again and filing out of the room, followed only by Erwin's quiet chuckles.

* * *

After successfully locating Nanaba and finally getting his new uniform, which did not go without a few teasing coos and snorts from both her and Mike, who was keeping the female Squad leader company during the weekly supplies inventory, Eren went to his room to change before returning to Levi's office for their daily tea date.

All the while he had to marvel how comfortable he suddenly was in his attire when he did not have to worry constantly about the button flying off. He smiled to himself smoothing the pure white pants, untouched by constant washing in both color and feel of the material, for the sixth time since putting them on and had to berate himself for taking so long to ask for new ones. But then again, he was sure he would have to make similar request a few times over yet.

He was still smiling when he entered Levi's office, where fresh tea was already waiting for him, along with Levi who gave him an appreciative once-over as soon as he saw him.

"Seems like you're actually comfortable now. Good," he said before returning his gaze his desk. There was no paperwork this time, but he looked busy cleaning out his 3DMG.

Eren's grin widened. "Yep," he confirmed, throwing himself at the couch, teacup in hand, and blissfully forgetting about the warning he had received from the Commander.

It did not stay that way for long, however, as only a few minutes after he had settled in, Hanji herself barged inside, not even bothering to knock in her obvious excitement.

"Guess what I have?" she sang loudly with a wide grin, several papers fluttering in her hands as she waved them around.

Without any hesitation or even looking up, Levi deadpanned, "Syphilis?"

Hanji frowned, dropping her hands to rest on her hips. "No, I do _not_ have syphilis. And for that attitude you do not get any say in what I _do_ have, young man."

Eren quickly covered his laugh with a cough but Levi glared at him anyway, obviously not fooled. He tried to ignore the eyes burning a hole into the side of his head, instead focusing on Hanji. "So what _do_ you have?"

At that, the Squad leader immediately brightened up again, jumping on the couch next to Eren, kicking off her boots and crossing her legs under her to get more comfortable. "Names!"

* * *

Kenny landed soundlessly on a tree branch next to his subordinate, who has been observing the castle for the day. "Anything new to report?"

The woman shook her head, not taking her eyes of her target. Kenny smiled wryly at her dedication to the task. "No, sir. No opportunities have presented yet."

"Weeell," he drew out, laughing quietly. "I'm nothing if not patient. We will take the brats, sooner or later. And Mr. Oh-so-important can go take a nice, long shit in the meantime. Maybe it will make him less irritating."

"Sir?"

"Yes, honey?"

"I really hate when you talk like that. Please stop."

Kenny gasped dramatically, "You wound me."

"Good," she replied effortlessly.

"Such insolence from my second in command," Kenny sighed in mock hurt tone, before he laughed again, jumping off the tree and disappearing into the forest without a trace, the marks from the hooks of his 3DMG blending in with the ones left by the scouts during their drills.

The woman could only roll her eyes and return to her watch. As the boss said, they _would_ get to those kids, sooner or later.

They only had to be patient.

* * *

 **A/N:** As you might have figured, I'm on the market for stupid/weird/horrendous baby names. If you have one, don't hesitate to share :D


	25. A Little Bundle of Names

**A/N:** The names scene was supposed to be a short comic relief. Yet here we are, 3000 words of terrible dialogue later... Thank you everyone for the suggestions. I couldn't come up with half of these alone \\(*^.^*)/

(I hope I don't accidentaly offend anyone...)

* * *

Eren curiously glanced over Hanji's shoulder at the papers in her hands. There were three pages, all of them with two rows of name after name.

"This is what Connie and Sasha were helping you with?" he asked, reluctantly impressed with the amount they managed to come up with.

Hanji grinned. "Yes! It was so much fun, I hope you like them. Everyone added a name or two, though."

"Oh, great," Levi muttered from behind his desk quietly.

"Hush, you don't have a right to speak, grumpy," the scientist said sternly, obviously still not forgetting about the syphilis comment, as she handed Eren the first page.

The omega took a deep breath and started skimming through it. Soon, he was surprised to see the names on there were very normal. Boring even. Anna, Marie, Tom, Josef. So far the weirdest name was 'Řehoř'. He had no idea how he was even supposed to pronounce that.

By the time he was halfway through the first row, Levi joined him in looking at the paper, leaning on the couch behind him and resting his hands over his omega's shoulders casually, pressing one hand over his heart, and Eren felt a smile pull at his lips.

"Who the fuck thinks anyone is ever going to name any kid 'Sunshine'?"

Eren frowned in confusion. "Where do you see that?"

Levi pointed towards the top of the second row, where 'Sonneschein' stood plain as day and Eren made a face, looking at Hanji, who cocked her head to the side in thought. "I think that was Reiner?"

Levi rolled his eyes. "Great. It's always the big guys who come up with the cutest shit."

"Yeah, I thought it was pretty funny," Hanji chuckled.

As Eren returned to the list, it became apparent Hanji was just starting them off slow as right around Sonneshein, the real fun was beginning.

"Peaches?" he asked, trying not to laugh.

"That's Mikasa," Hanji said with a wide grin. "She was really serious about it, too."

"And let me guess; this one was Shitty Eyebrows."

"Which one?" Hanji asked moving on her hands and knees so she could lean over and look, too.

Levi pointed to 'Hope' before adding, "Probably said something along the lines of how it would be a good cover."

"How'd you know?" she asked in turn with fake surprise in her voice.

"Cover?" Eren asked, confused.

Hanji snorted, ruffling Eren's hair. "Because you're 'Humanity's Hope' and people would think we are talking about you."

Eren scowled. "Right, because when we say 'I need to change Hope's diapers', people will immediately think it's about me."

There was a beat of silence before Hanji burst out laughing, slapping her knee in the process. Even Levi dropped his head to hide in the crook of Eren's neck, shaking lightly.

Eren clicked his tongue, feeling slightly offended. "It's not funny."

"Oh it is," Levi said, his voice muffled but, surprisingly, sounding completely normal.

The omega huffed, set on ignoring both his mate and doctor.

"Oh hey, I actually like this one."

"Which?" Levi inquired, raising his head.

"Grice," Eren said pointing to the name in question.

The alpha hummed in contemplation. "Yeah, it sounds good. But now I have to wonder which one of the brats actually has normal ideas."

"Armin," Eren and Hanji said in unison.

"Figures," Levi muttered, shaking his head.

"Hey, you know which one I like?" Hanji asked innocently, a mischievous glint in her eyes.

The mates eyed her warily, but Hanji only smiled. "The third one from the bottom."

There was a beat of silence before, "I'm going to fucking murder the Horseface."

At that Hanji burst out laughing again, actually rolling off the couch and landing painfully on the floor, though that didn't stop her from continuing to chortle.

"I appreciate his guts," Levi muttered. "He could have been more creative though."

"His tiny horse brain probably didn't realize you'd see it, too. He'd be too scared to put this on here if he did."

"But seriously, 'Suicidal Dustpan'? Mike called us 'Short Temper' once. I appreciated that one more."

"He did _what_?" Eren squeaked in horror, his head whipping around to stare at his alpha, as Hanji got overwhelmed with a new wave of amusement, praising Mike to heaven.

Levi only shrugged, leaning over to pick up the second paper to replace the one in Eren's hands. "Wanna play 'guess who' with these names?" he asked instead, smirking.

Eren shook his head in disbelief, just as Hanji finally calmed down and joined him on the couch again. Her hair was a bigger mess than usual and her face was red from laughing, but she looked ready and eager to give the correct answers to them, so the omega turned to look at the paper as well.

"I'll go first," he announced with an evil smile a second later. "Megatron and Megaranger is Connie."

"That's two points to Eren!" Hanji cried, raising her hands in excitement.

Levi clicked his tongue. "Those were easy."

"Than try to catch up, if you're so smart," Eren said, sticking out his tongue.

The alpha scanned over the list and smirked as his eyes fell on one particular name. "This screams Hanji," he said, pausing to figure out what the name even was. "What the fuck is... Menthuthuyoupi anyway?" he asked, shooting Hanji a bemused look.

The beta just shrugged, grinning. "That's two to one for Eren. Gotta try harder to catch up, old man."

Levi rolled his eyes but before he could try a second time, Eren spoke up. "I guess Gertrude is Sasha's?"

Hanji's grin widened. "Nope. Krista's."

Both of them blinked, staring at Hanji blankly. "You're kidding," Eren wondered out loud.

"No, dead serious."

"Gertrude? And Krista? That's so... wrong," Eren made a face, completely thrown off by how the two didn't fit together.

"But Eulalie is Sasha for sure," Levi commented offhandedly.

"And we have a tie!" Hanji exclaimed like a tournament commentator. "Come on Eren, you can pull ahead again!"

The boy chuckled at her excitement, thinking hard while staring at the weird names. But then his eyebrows shot up. "Oh hey, there's a normal name here!"

"Where?"

"Tamerlane."

"That's a normal name?" Levi frowned, turning to look at his mate.

"You don't think it is?" Eren asked, frowning in return.

"Hell no. It's weird as shit."

" _You're_ weird."

Levi opened his mouth to retort, before he caught himself. Were they seriously about to have a fight over whether a name was weird or not? He shook his head, ignoring the angry look focused on him as he rubbed a soothing circles into Eren's chest.

"Now here's a normal name," Levi mumbled and from the corner of his eyes he saw Eren narrow his eyes. "Natasha. It has a nice ring to it. Who made this one?"

Hanji crossed her arms with a pout. "You have to guess."

Levi rolled his eyes. "Fine. Nanaba."

"I think it was Bertholt," Eren tried, fake certainty in his voice.

Hanji looked at them both, disappointment evident on her face. "You're both wrong. It was Ymir."

"Interesting," Levi muttered as Eren hummed in agreement, looking at the list again in thought.

"Nice, I found a Sasha streak!" he perked up a moment later.

"Seriously?" the alpha frowned, trying to find what his mate was talking about, but not seeing anything.

"Right here," he said with laughter in his voice. It was funnier the longer he looked at it. "These four at the end."

He felt Levi shake his head slightly. "I still don't see it."

"You gotta think like Sasha. Look," the omega went to explain, pointing to the first name on the short list he pointed out. Potto, it said. "This is obviously 'potato' without an A. This one." He moved his finger down one name and continued, "Stev is just 'stew' with a V instead of W. Carrol is 'carrot' with an L. And looking at the pattern, Brad-"

"Is fucking 'bread' without E," Levi finished with a groan, dropping his head into the crook of Eren's neck once again, but this time it was to hide his exasperation instead of amusement. The other laughed out loud, petting Levi's head where it rested against him in mock-comfort. "I guess that explains the 'Met' on the first page."

"Oh yeah, now that you mention it," Eren mumbled, picking up the first paper again, looking for said 'name'. He could only shake his head in half amazement and half amusement. Although he'll have to have a talk with his friend. He was not naming their kid after any sort of food, no matter how sneaky she thought she was and no matter how delicious the food.

"Wait, really?" Hanji asked, crowding Eren again, staring at the four name suggestions with a frown. "I didn't even notice. She swore up and down those were legit names."

Eren let out a bark of laughter. "Seriously?"

Hanji nodded, a pout appearing in place of her frown. "Yeah, she said Stev was a local variant of Steven in their village."

Levi blinked at her. "And you honestly believed her?" he wondered, raising an eyebrow.

Hanji huffed and crossed her arms defiantly. She didn't answer though.

Eren smiled, putting the two papers aside and reaching for the last one. Out of the corner of his eyes he noticed Hanji observing his action carefully as she chewed on her bottom lip lightly. He frowned, wondering what was wrong as he scanned the rest of the long, long list. He didn't see anything too terrible there, but just as he was about to ask, he felt Levi tense behind him.

"Hanji," he growled, a clear warning in his voice.

"I know!" the beta cried, raising her hands up in a placating gesture. "I know, Levi okay? Just... I thought it might be a good idea. At least consider it, please?"

There was a tense moment of silence where nobody dared to move. Finally, Levi sighed deeply, straightening up to flex his neck and both Eren and Hanji started breathing again. "Fine, I'll think about it."

"Thank you," Hanji said quietly, looking at Levi with a soft smile.

Eren, deeming it safe to speak up now that Levi walked around the couch to sit on the arm next to him, glanced between the two of them. "Okay, what was this about?"

Hanji's teeth sank into her bottom lip anew. She wasn't looking at him when she pointed towards the middle of the first row on the paper. Eren only skimmed through them so he didn't realize before, but there it was. Isabel and Farlan, Levi friends who died during their first mission. Kuchel, Levi's mother. Carla and Grisha, Eren's parents.

Eren gulped loudly, suddenly finding it hard to breathe. Immediately Levi's hand went to the back of his neck to bury itself in his hair and lightly scratch there in an effort to calm him down. The omega fought the urge to lean into his mate's touch as he looked at Hanji, who was still avoiding looking him in the eyes. "Hanji, I..." the beta looked up, uncertain of what he was about to say. "Thank you." He felt himself blush when Hanji gaped at him, but he continued. "It was really nice to suggest something like this." He looked away, clutching the paper in his hands.

Hanji put a hand on his forearm and squeezed gently, so he peeked up at her to see her smiling the most gentle smile, before she stood up and stretched. "Well, I think you two have loads of ideas for a name so take your time picking a good one," she grinned back at them as usual, as if the minutes before never happened, "though I personally hope you chose Argonautus."

Levi snorted, muttering a "Yeah, right" as Hanji laughed at Eren's expression before leaving them with a reminder that the afternoon training was starting soon.

The mates exchanged a glance before, "I still think Tamerlane would be a nice name."

Levi groaned, shoving at Eren as he got up to head back to his desk to put his 3DMG back together and clean up, leaving a laughing Eren behind on the couch.

* * *

It was a few days later at dinner when Nanaba approached Levi at their squad's table with a few papers in hand.

"Levi, it's your squad's turn on supply duty, right? I got the list of things we need."

Levi put his tea cup down as several heads perked up and turned in his and Nanaba's direction. Supply duty was everyone's favorite as you got to go to town and fool around for a bit, as well as do some shopping for yourself alongside the stuff you were actually there for. Unfortunately, it was a job for two, maybe three people depending on how much shopping was needed. And even more unfortunately, it was found early on some people couldn't be trusted with this amount of responsibility.

Sasha tended to lose reason and blow every bit of the money she was handed on food. Connie lost the money once. Armin and Bertholt were too meek and ended up either ripped off by the vendors or buying things the corps didn't actually need in a quality the corps definitely didn't need. Ymir was the exact opposite, buying the first thing she came across regardless its quality and then ruthlessly bargaining. She already had such a reputation that most of the vendors outright refused to sell her anything. (Not that she minded much, she found shopping much too bothersome unless Krista was with her.)

So Levi ignored the sparkles in Sasha and Connie's eyes or the eager grin on Ymir's face as she eyed Krista, who was looking at him with polite expectation. Indeed, it was often Krista who was sent on these errands, accompanied usually by Eren, Mikasa, as she was a bargainer more efficient than Ymir, since her angelic smile and exceptionally polite demeanor made everyone love her, no matter how much money she mercilessly deprived them off. It was actually pretty scary. Eren and Mikasa were there just to help carry the stuff, a job Reiner or Jean would be a good option for as well. However, Ymir would always throw a fit if it was Reiner and Jean would throw a fit that he was no mule (Eren always begged to differ which would then result in a fight between the two), and Levi couldn't be bothered with none of that shit.

And since sending Eren was out of the question, Krista and Mikasa it was this time.

Levi nodded to Nanaba, reaching out. "Give it here, they'll get the shit."

Something flashed in Nanaba's eyes as she handed one of the papers over. Levi took it, lingering on her face with his eyes for a moment, but nothing seemed out of the ordinary in her expression. Levi must have imagined it.

"Thanks," he muttered, glancing over the paper – and freezing. "Nanaba, what the fuck."

At that Nanaba burst out laughing, making several people in the mess hall turn their way. Levi fought the urge to scrunch the paper up and feed it to her, before going to find Hanji and strangle her.

"Sorry, sorry," Nanaba said finally, wiping away tears as her voice still shook with amusement. "Here's the actual list." She handed over the real shopping list, taking back the copy of the baby names suggestions Hanji gave her.

Levi clicked his tongue as he angrily snatched the paper, immediately handing it over to Mikasa, who was, much to his displeasure, hiding behind her scarf with eyes dancing with mirth.

"For future reference, my favorites are Vivren and Kash," she winked, snickering as she walked away.

Levi pinched the bridge of his nose and sighed, while Eren blushed slightly upon realizing what that first paper was; more when others started whispering amongst each other about baby names and what their ideas were. Eren was once again surprised to see Mikasa passionately defend her Peaches. Only Jean stayed silent, as he wasn't exactly eager for a repeat of the stable duty he was subjected to as a result of his suggestion.

"Okay, brats." Levi brought their attention back to himself when he had had enough of the discussion that was getting louder and louder. They all shut up immediately, sitting at attention. Satisfied, the alpha continued, "Mikasa and Krista will be going tomorrow morning to town. No this is not up to discussion, Sasha." The beta in question visibly deflated and Connie patted her back in consolation. "The rest of you are having your training as usual. Any questions?"

A round of "No sir," resounded around the table and Levi nodded in satisfaction before he noticed Eren was looking at him uncertainly.

"Uhm..." he let out quietly, raising a hesitant hand.

Levi blinked at him in surprise. "Yes, Eren?" he prompted, bringing everyone's attention to the omega.

Eren fidgeted uncomfortably before he took a deep breath. "Sir, may I go to town as well?"

Levi narrowed his eyes at his _pregnant_ mate. He should know damn well that no, he may not. "Why?" he asked instead.

Eren shrunk under his intense gaze that obviously said no even though the alpha didn't say it out loud. "Well, I have a new uniform but I need casual clothes, too."

"The girls will get some for you."

Mikasa nodded in agreement, obviously as unwilling to let him come as their Captain. Eren shot her a glare but she only looked at him impassively.

Eren lowered his voice as he pleaded his case. "It's not as easy, sir. They don't know the correct size, hell I don't know it. It needs to be lose but not _too_ lose. I need to try it on."

"Sir, it looks like Eren really needs it," Armin came to Eren's aid and suddenly Eren wanted to kiss his best friend. "You can always go with him to keep an eye on him. So he doesn't shift in the middle of the market," the beta added quickly, aware of their location.

There was a long moment of silence as Levi and Eren stared at each other with the squad looking on with bated breath. But finally the Captain relented, saying it would be Mikasa, Krista, Eren, and him who'd be going after all.

The omega shot Armin a grateful look, to which the blond beta returned a thumbs up, and promised to himself to buy him something nice in town.

And then, looking at Levi's unhappy frown, he thought he'd have to buy something for his mate as well.

* * *

 **A/N:** Yes, I got a bit carried away there ^^;; I hope you enjoyed reading this chapter as much as I enjoyed writing it :)

I case you're wondering, the actual name (and gender of the child) is still on trial. As in, I still have no idea.


	26. A Little Bundle of Shopping

**A/N:** Hi, yes, hello, I am alive and this fic is alive. I am incredibly sorry, I swear I didn't plan on taking a half a year long break ㅠ0ㅠ My last semester and anxiety were kicking my ass and it sort of... happened? I'm sorry, I'll try not to let that repeat itself ^^;;

* * *

Eren was glad to get out of the carriage when they finally arrived the next day. The travel to town was awkward, Krista's efforts at small talk largely failing over Levi's and Mikasa's inability to indulge in it. And so, most of the time was spent sitting in silence that was only filled with the sound of hooves and the carriage bumping on the uneven road.

As soon as they got out, however, Eren felt like he could breathe again. Even early in the morning as it was, the market was already bustling with activity and there were many things to look at and chose from, fruits and vegetables that made Eren's mouth water, spices and herbs, but also household items like spatulas and brooms, lots of different cleaning products, axes and saws, and a few stands even sold books.

But that was not what Eren was there for, at least not today.

"Krista, Mikasa. You two have Nanaba's list?" Levi asked as soon as he got off the carriage.

The two girls stood at attention immediately. "Yes, sir; I have it right here," Krista answered. pulling the paper out of the little bag she had to carry the few things she needed.

Levi nodded in approval before glancing at Eren. "I'll leave the shopping to you two then. I'll take Eren to get his clothes and shit and I expect you to be done by the time we're back. Be here in two hours. Dismissed."

Eren, Mikasa, and Krista all saluted before the girls walked off, leaving the two mates by themselves. Eren and Levi exchanged a look as Levi sighed. "Come on then."

"Yes, Captain," Eren responded without missing a beat, following his alpha who led him away from the busy market and into the town's narrows streets.

The place they were headed for was a small clothes shop hidden a bit away from the town's center. It might have been tiny but they held a surprising amount of clothing items for everyone to chose from, newly made and second hand alike, offering small adjustments and tailoring, all for a ridiculously cheap price. So obviously, half the town and all of the Survey Corps soldiers shopped – and sold old clothes that didn't fit anymore – there. It got to the point that the seamstress, a young girl barely out of her teens, who inherited the shop from her parents, knew most of the soldiers by name.

When the two of them entered the little shop, they were greeted with the quiet, cozy atmosphere, and a cheery, melodic, "Welcome!" coming from the back of the shop a moment later.

"Hi, Emma!" Eren called back. "No need to hurry, we'll just look around first," he assured when the sound of running steps carried over to them.

"Oh, okay. I'm sorry, I'll be back out in a bit!" Emma called back, sounding a bit sheepish.

Eren saw Levi shake his head as the alpha walked past him inside the shop and Eren suppressed a chuckle at the barely there smile he noticed on his lips. Looked like even Levi liked the young, enthusiastic woman.

Looking around the shop to see where the section for male clothing was, Eren headed that way immediately, wanting to have this done and over with so they actually had time to look around the market before it was time to leave. He did still want to look for a present for both Levi and Armin, after all. The omega opened his bag and pulled out one of his shirts and pants so he could compare the sizes, and dived into the mountains of clothes to find some new ones for himself, not paying his mate any attention.

It was only minutes later, when he already had several shirts and sweaters and a pair of pants chosen to try on and see if they fit correctly that he looked up. He wanted to ask Levi his opinion on a tunic that would have been perfect, lose enough to hide his stomach while still looking like it was supposed to be that way – only it was a very bold, orange color. However, he was only met with Levi's back, the alpha apparently frozen in place and staring at... _something_ on the opposite side of the store _._

Eren frowned slightly, picking up the tunic and walking up to his mate carefully. Only when he was standing directly behind him, trying to peek over Levi's shoulder, did Levi jerk, turning around while trying – and failing – to keep his expression a bored neutral. Instead, he looked almost guilty.

"What do you need, Eren?" he asked innocently, but Eren only cocked his head to the side as he studied Levi's expression.

Finally, his curiosity got the better of him and he side-stepped Levi to see what he was hiding. And as soon as his eyes fell on the things Levi was staring at so intently, a giggle nearly escaped him.

Baby clothes.

Levi was staring at baby clothes.

"Stop it with that shit eating grin," Levi muttered and if Eren didn't know any better, he'd think it sounded embarrassed.

Looking around the shop quickly to make sure they were still alone, Eren noted teasingly, his voice almost a whisper, careful nobody could hear. "Isn't it still a bit early to look for stuff like this?"

Levi narrowed his eyes at his mate but didn't say anything in his defense. He only huffed and turned to look back down on the tiny overalls and even tinier socks. "Fuck, Eren, look how small all this shit is."

Eren smiled softly, following his mate's gaze to where Levi's fingers were lightly tracing over a cute, green, little coat. "It is," Eren nodded, suddenly as much wonder in his voice as there was in Levi's. "It's incredible."

Out of the corner of his eyes he saw Levi turn his head a bit and a second later, he felt his eyes on him, watching him as intently as he was watching the baby clothes moments before. Feeling a comfortable weight settle inside his stomach and a smile tug on his lips at the undivided attention he was getting from Levi, Eren slowly turned to the side to look at his alpha.

There was a complicated expression on Levi's face, something between worry and adoration and embarrassment and so much _wonder_ and Eren's breath hitched. They stared at each other for what seemed like hours, neither saying anything, feeling like the world stopped around them.

That was, until a muffled bang came from the back room, the doors slamming open with Emma emerging from the inner parts of the shop, a little flushed but smiling in that happy, friendly way of hers. The atmosphere broken, the mates jumped away from each other in shock, hoping the girl didn't see anything – and that she wouldn't think anything of the section of the shop they were standing in.

"Eren, Captain Levi! I'm so sorry for the wait. Do you need any help?" Emma asked, looking between the two of them, not sure whom she was asking.

"Actually, yeah," Eren answered maybe a bit too loudly, taking a few quick steps towards Emma while trying to fight down a blush. He heard Levi move behind him, casually walking away to make it seem like he was just wandering around the shop and not staring in fascination at baby clothes of all things. Raising the orange tunic up to show to Emma, Eren continued, "I was wondering if you had something like this, in a more neutral color?"

Emma hummed to herself, taking the tunic from Eren's hands to go search her stock. Behind her back, Eren sighed in relief. He was so close to kissing Levi back there. It was dangerous. _They_ were starting to act dangerous, not nearly watching themselves enough. With all of the people closest to them knowing about their relationship, they were slowly getting less and less careful. It was bad, and they needed to start paying attention to their actions and words again.

And to think they had managed to hide this from everyone for _months_. It used to be so natural to Eren, so easy to distinguish when they were alone behind closed doors and when people could see and hear.

The only thing that kept Eren from feeling as guilty was the fact that Levi was obviously having as much trouble keeping up appearances as the omega did. Not that that made things any better, it actually made them worse, but at least the blame didn't fall only on Eren's shoulders.

Still didn't change anything about the fact they would have to talk about this. Glancing at Levi over his shoulder as he followed Emma back to the men's section of the shop, he noticed the alpha was just as tense as he was, probably on edge for the very same reason. Aware they had been _very_ close to fucking up.

Yeah, they would have to talk about this.

* * *

Meanwhile, in the town's market, the two girls were busy going from stand to stand, looking for the items on their list. They had already managed to secure some of it, Mikasa carrying two bags full of soap, new rags, and several other things, but they still had to find more than a half of the items on the long list.

Mikasa followed wordlessly for the most part as Krista weaved her way through the small crowd of shoppers, navigating expertly to wherever they needed to go. She was much better at all this than Mikasa was after all, the small beta knowing exactly where the best goods were sold and which sellers were weak to her angelic smiles, getting them discounts with a single bat of her eyelashes.

And so Mikasa just let her lead the way and handle the talking while she just carried most of the bags and looked around the market, taking it all in. Watching people. Scoffing when someone was shouting at the poor sellers or smiling to herself when she saw little girls and boys clinging to their mothers' skirts, scared to lose sight of them in the crowds. Sometimes she also looked through the goods offered around them, laughing at some ridiculous things or wishing she had the money to buy some of these for her friends. Or for herself, like she did right now.

As she waited for Krista to finish her bargaining at one of the vegetable stands, her eyes fell on the stand next to them. There was an assortment of handmade dolls, sewn out of old cloth. They weren't the most pretty dolls you'd ever see but they were... nostalgic.

Without even realizing, Mikasa reached out to pick one of them up. It was small, smaller than the rest of the ones displayed, but it was cute; patchy, obviously made from small leftover scraps, making the doll more colorful than most of the others. Somehow, it reminded Mikasa of the time, so long ago, when her mother used to teach her how to sew on little pieces of cloth that were unusable in any other ways, and looking at this doll now made her feel like she was back there, back in the warm safety of her childhood, on her mother's lap. Before anything bad ever happened.

"Do you want it?"

Mikasa jumped at the soft, curious voice that suddenly came from next to her. Blinking a few times, she looked at Krista, a guilty look probably adorning her face, judging by the kind smile Krista gave her. Putting the doll back where she found it maybe too quickly, Mikasa shook her head in denial, even as she still couldn't tear her eyes away. "No. It's silly, what would I do with a doll like that."

Krista huffed at that, picking the doll back up to look at it more closely. "It's really cute. There's nothing silly about that," she said clearly, looking up at Mikasa with an amused sparkle to her big, blue eyes. "You're allowed to indulge yourself in things that don't involve chopping up meat, you know."

The alpha looked down to where Krista held the doll, holding it out towards her. Mikasa couldn't deny she wanted it but... she was torn. It didn't serve any purpose; it was just sentimental.

Seeing Mikasa was still wavering, Krista took a step closer, making the other girl look at her. Smiling gently, she spoke up in a quiet, sweet voice. "You know, there is soon going to be someone who would absolutely adore something like this. You don't have to get it for yourself."

It was a blatant lie and both Krista and Mikasa knew it. If she got the doll, it wouldn't be for her niece or nephew. It would be for herself.

But Mikasa couldn't deny it was a good excuse. An excuse to herself more than anyone else, really. She stared at the doll for a few more moments, before finally nodding hesitantly, reaching out to take the doll from Krista. She would buy the doll and she would study it and learn how to make them herself so she could gift the baby with more of them, as many as the tiny human would want.

Krista's smile widened as she pressed the doll to Mikasa's chest. "Get it then, I'll be at the dishes stand."

Mikasa nodded, a small, embarrassed, yet grateful smile as Krista walked away with a wink and something that could only be described as a smirk on her lips. Turning back to the old woman who owned the stand and who had been watching the exchange between the two girls patiently with a warm, knowing look in her eyes, Mikasa sheepishly pulled out the little purse that held her personal money, handing the lady the amount to pay for the doll.

The woman smiled warmly at her as she accepted the payment. "You are a strong young lady but even strong alpha girls are still girls. Your friend was right, you are allowed to like cute things as well. You don't need to be the strong one all the time."

Mikasa paused, taken a bit off guard by her words, but then she blushed slightly, puling her scarf up a bit and looking away. "I... Thank you."

"No problem, sweetie. And congratulations? From your conversation I assume there is going to be a baby in your family! A little sibling?"

"Ah," Mikasa paused, taken off guard. "Something like that, I suppose," she finished vaguely, shrugging.

The woman thought nothing of her words, clapping her hands excitedly. "That's amazing," she sighed, smiling at Mikasa as the girl nodded uncertainly. "You seem like a very kind, strong young woman, I'm sure they will love you when they are born. Now, your friend is waiting for you, I'm sorry, I won't keep you any longer; I hope you like the doll."

"I do, thank you very much." Mikasa smiled politely before quickly saying her goodbye, ready to go look for Krista. Just as she turned away from the stand, somebody bumped into her roughly, not even pausing to apologize or at least acknowledge her. They were obviously in a hurry to get wherever they were going.

Mikasa narrowed her eyes, instinct warning her that something was off. There was no reason for someone to rush like this inside the market. If they needed to get somewhere else as soon as possible, they would avoid the market altogether. Not to mention their attire. The weather was chilly but it wasn't cold enough to wear a long coat like this, combined with the hat that obscured their face. It was suspicious. More than suspicious and Mikasa immediately took of after them, careful to keep her distance and not alert them of her presence.

The warning bells in her head started getting even louder as soon as she realized they were going the same direction Krista had walked away in. She didn't know why that seemed like a big deal, it was probably just a coincidence, but she still started carefully scanning her surroundings in search of her friend. When she finally spotted her, chatting away with a man at the dishes selling stand a little bit away, she heaved a sigh of relief.

That was, until she realized that was exactly where the person she was tailing was headed. Her eyes snapping back to the suspicious figure in front of her, she watched at they reached inside their coat to pull something out. It was a movement alarmingly similar to the one soldiers made when reaching for their blades and Mikasa's blood ran cold. Cursing the fact she was not in her uniform and without her own gear, she started to run, praying she'd catch up in time. She found herself right behind the person just as they pulled out a short fire arm, quickly taking aim in the direction of the stand Krista was at. Trying to stay as silent as possible, Mikasa ducked low, slipping under their outstretched arm.

"Krista, duck!" she shouted, just as she kicked up with all the force her body could muster, hitting the suspect's forearm and causing their whole arm to jerk up high above their head, the gun flying out of their hand.

In the same moment, a loud gunshot echoed around the market.


End file.
